THE ROLE OF THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY: PAST, …
Since the late 1970s, oil and gas companies have viewed scientific reports on human-caused climate change as a threat to their business. To prevent measures against climate change and preserve their business, they launched disinformation campaigns. These campaigns aimed to deny or cover up scientific findings on human-caused climate change.
The companies enlisted the help of communications experts, some of whom had already successfully helped the tobacco industry downplay the risks of smoking. This strategic disinformation led to human-caused climate change being considered scientifically controversial in the public eye until the early 2000s, delaying necessary climate protection measures.
EXAMPLE EXXON, LATE 1970S: ‘EXXON KNEW’
Since at least the late 1970s, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies has known from its own research that burning fossil fuels causes climate change.
‘Humanity has a window of five to ten years before concrete decisions regarding changes in energy strategies may become urgently necessary.’ James F. Black, leading scientist at Exxon, to management in 1977/78
In 1982, M.B. Glaser, the manager for environmental issues, presented his findings to management – with astonishingly accurate predictions. The document could be used for discussions, but was not to be revealed to the public. In the report, he writes that mitigating the human-caused greenhouse effect requires a reduction in the burning of fossil fuels and that warming may be irreversible.
Instead of educating the public, slowing down oil production and investing in alternative energies, Exxon discontinued its research on climate change at the end of the 1980s. Exxon, or ExxonMobil as of 1999, continued to expand oil production and pursued a strategy of targeted disinformation until the mid-2000s. Together with other stakeholders, they sowed doubt about the scientific consensus, spent tens of millions of dollars on spreading misinformation and confused the public in order to prevent political action against climate change (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015).
Sources: Supran, G. et al., 2023, Science; BP logos: Wikipedia; Adobe Stock. The text content comes almost exclusively from: KLIMA_X, an exhibition at the Museum for Communication, Frankfurt am Main, 2022.
Excerpts from the internal report on the CO₂ greenhouse effect by Exxon’s environmental manager M.B. Glaser, 1982
Comment:
The figure produced by Exxon shows the estimated temperature increase resulting from the use of its fossil fuel products. They estimated that by 2050, the temperature would be approx. +1.7°C higher than in 1980. In 1979, Exxon already noted internally that, according to current climate models, this would lead to ‘dramatic climatic changes’ by 2055 (internal Exxon report, 1979).
BP-Logo 1989-2000 / BP-Logo since 2000
EXAMPLE BP, 2004: ‘DO YOU KNOW YOUR PERSONAL CARBON FOOTPRINT?’
BP was one of the first oil companies to make a U-turn and start actively talking about environmental and climate issues. The company’s goal was to be perceived by the public as part of the climate solution.
Starting in 2004, BP launched a large-scale image campaign promoting its personal ‘carbon footprint calculator’ which it claimed was a tool for individual climate protection. However, this campaign diverted attention away from the company’s own responsibility and shifted it onto individuals.
While the consideration of personal emissions is necessary to anchor climate protection across society, it also takes decisive, far-reaching measures at the political and economic level.
SIGNS OF A CHANGE IN IMAGE
Around the year 2000, BP began to cultivate a green image and reinterpreted its name: from ‘British Petroleum’ to ‘beyond petroleum’. The new logo is reminiscent of a sun and was intended to signal the end of the fossil fuel era. But in reality, BP continued to invest much more money in the extraction of fossil fuels than in climate-friendly alternatives.
This is a typical example of greenwashing: the public is led to believe that the company’s products or business practices are more environmentally friendly than they actually are.
… PRESENT & FUTURE
Key players in the oil and gas industry continue to slow down the necessary transition to a climate-friendly society. Although many corporations present themselves as environmentally conscious, international studies show that a significant portion of their investments continues to flow into new fossil fuel projects.
DELAY INSTEAD OF DENIAL
Whereas denial of climate change used to be the main focus, the dominating strategy nowadays is delay. This involves publicly emphasising that climate protection is necessary in principle, but that concrete measures are too expensive, ineffective or not urgent. This climate delay rhetoric is often invisible to the general public, but according to scientific studies it is very effective. This is not just a matter of individual pieces of fake news, but rather long-term strategies to influence opinions, politics and legislation – mostly in the interests of the fossil fuel industry. The aim is to delay and weaken political decisions and water down legal requirements.
Studies show that parts of the oil and gas industry fund networks of economically liberal think tanks, communications agencies and political interest groups. These actors call for less government intervention and more market freedom.
Some of these organisations publicly criticise climate protection laws, CO2 pricing and the expansion of renewable energies. Some also promote measures that restrict access to relevant data and scientific findings. This includes making environmental and climate data less transparent, delaying the publication of reports and cutting research budgets.
In addition, climate researchers are personally attacked to undermine their credibility. Furthermore, some networks use targeted influence to ensure that climate protests are perceived as a threat – which in some cases leads to particularly harsh penalties for climate activists.
These practices can hinder fact-based decision-making processes and influence public debate.
Sources (among others): Brulle, R. J., 2018; Franta, B., 2021; International Monetary Fund, 2023; IPCC AR6 WIII (chapter 16), 2022; The Guardian, 2024; Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015
HOW CHANGE CAN STILL HAPPEN
Despite all attempts to slow it down, the transition to a climate-friendly society is progressing. Technical solutions exist, societal support is growing and the political framework is well established. The figure shows the different phases of sustainable change in the field of technology when supported by our behaviour:
