Oil and gas companies, including Britain’s Shell and BP, were told to “stop their deception” this week as the US House Oversight and Reform Committee released documents showing that oil industry executives privately downplayed public messages for efforts to address the climate crisis. The memo claimed that internal BP documents highlighted how carbon capture and storage (CCS) – a nascent technology that involves injecting CO2 emissions into underground rock formations – could “enable the full use of fossil fuels throughout the energy transition and beyond her”. Congressional investigators also discovered an internal Shell email discussing carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) in which an executive said: “We want to be careful not to talk about CCUS as extending the life of the oil, the natural gas or fossil fuels. “ The committee said internal Shell messaging guidance – developed to “insulate Shell” from lawsuits for “greenwashing” and “misleading investors” over the climate crisis – calls on workers to emphasize that net zero emissions is “a collective ambition for the world’ rather than a ‘Shell goal or objective’. The guidance tells employees: “Please do not give the impression that Shell is willing to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to levels that do not make business sense.” In separate documents, oil companies Exxon and Chevron appeared to ask the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) to “remove language that potentially commits members to improved governance, strategy, risk management and performance metrics and targets. and to avoid any “clear commitment by OGCI companies to align their advocacy with their climate positions” – including advocacy for the 2015 Paris Agreement. Climate advocates and some investors have pushed energy companies to commit to more ambitious emissions reduction targets. Activist investor Follow This has tabled resolutions at shareholder meetings in a bid to get companies to agree targets under the Paris agreement. Shell lost a landmark ruling in the Dutch courts last year when a judge ordered it to cut global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030 compared to 2019 levels. Campaigners hope the new chief executive, Wael Sawan, whose appointment was announced on Thursday, may increase the company’s investments in green energy. The commission said that, after Shell posted on Twitter asking others what they would do to reduce emissions, a communications executive wrote privately that he agreed this could be seen as “lightning” the public. “We are, after all, in a tweet like this that implies that others should be sacrificed without focusing on ourselves,” he said. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said: “As we face more deadly, extreme weather around the world, fossil fuel companies are reaping record profits and ramping up their deceptive public relations tactics to distract attention from their central role in fueling the climate crisis. “My committee’s investigation leaves no doubt that, according to one company official, big oil is ‘lighting up’ the public. These companies claim they are part of the solution to climate change, but internal documents reveal they are still business as usual. I call on the big fossil fuel companies to stop their deception and reduce their emissions now – before it’s too late.” Jamie Peters, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Big oil companies like Shell, Exxon and Chevron can try to hide their murky PR image as much as they want, as we’ve seen in the millions of dollars funneled into disingenuous campaigns greenwash by industry. But while not surprising, this bombshell revelation confirms what remains completely transparent about big oil. That it has every intention of continuing to mine for profit, rather than transforming the way it operates for the sake of our communities and our planet. “Millions are already experiencing dangerous climate collapse in extreme heatwaves and devastating floods, like those in Pakistan, as the world’s biggest polluters continue to shirk their responsibilities. They will continue to act only in the interests of their shareholders unless governments intervene.” The Guardian revealed last month that BP has spent more than £800,000 on social media influencer ads in the UK this year championing the company’s investment in green energy. A Shell spokesman said: “Of the almost 500,000 pages given to the committee, the small handful they have chosen to highlight is evidence of Shell’s extensive efforts to set aggressive targets, evolve its portfolio and meaningfully participate in the ongoing energy transition.” . An Exxon spokesman said: “We have supported the Paris Agreement since its inception in 2015 and continue to support the US government’s participation in the framework. The selective publication of dated emails, without context, is a deliberate attempt to create a narrative that does not reflect ExxonMobil’s – and its employees’ – commitment to tackling climate change and leading the transition to a net-zero future.” BP told Bloomberg it has set short-term goals that are consistent with its ambition to become a net-zero company by 2050. Chevron has been contacted for comment.
