Ad campaigns hide investment in a huge expansion of oil and gas extraction, says InfluenceMap.
The largest five stock market listed oil and gas companies spend nearly $200m (£153m) a year lobbying to delay, control or block policies to tackle climate change, according to a new report.
Chevron, BP and ExxonMobil were the main companies leading the field in direct lobbying to push against a climate policy to tackle global warming, the report said.
Edward Collins, the report’s author, analysed corporate spending on lobbying, briefing and advertising, and assessed what proportion was dedicated to climate issues.
He said: “Oil majors’ climate branding sounds increasingly hollow and their credibility is on the line.
They publicly support climate action while lobbying against binding policy.
They advocate low-carbon solutions but such investments are dwarfed by spending on expanding their fossil fuel business.”
After the Paris climate agreement in 2015 the large integrated oil and gas companies said they supported a price on carbon and formed groups like the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative which promote voluntary measures.
But, the report states, there is a glaring gap between their words and their actions.
The five publicly listed oil majors – ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP and Total – now spend about $195m a year on branding campaigns suggesting they support action against climate change.
But the report said these campaigns were misleading the public about the extent of the oil companies’ actions because while publicly endorsing the need to act, they are massively increasing investment in a huge expansion of oil and gas extraction. In 2019 their spending will increase to $115bn, with just 3% of that directed at low carbon projects.
jpratt27 
For many decades the fossil fuel industry has known about the dangers their products pose to earth’s climate. Hence they have spent billions of dollars to distract, deny and misinform on the issue to delay action which combats human induced global warming.
Experts explain to the Joint EU Parliament Committee ENVI and PETI how this is being facilitated and how politics can respond.
PETI ENVI joint meeting 21/03/2019, 10:30 – 12:30
Joint EU Committee hearing on Exxon and climate change denial
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More here => https://www.desmog.co.uk/2019/03/20/they-have-lied-decades-european-parliament-scrutinise-exxon-s-climate-science-denial
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Organised climate change denial.
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