Message From the Editor

This week, our UK Deputy Editor, Sam Bright, revealed that a fossil fuel industry group and a controversial waste management company are sponsoring dinners at next week’s Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference.

SEJ’s decision to let the Western States Petroleum Association and Veolia North America host “Beat Dinners” has sparked concern from journalists and campaigners.

“There’s no excuse for these sorts of conflicts of interest,” said Jamie Henn of the campaign and communications group Fossil Free Media. “By letting the fossil fuel industry sponsor events, groups like SEJ lend credibility to bad actors.”

Our writer Dana Drugmand also looked into the latest Banking on Climate Chaos report released by the Rainforest Action Network this week.

This report found that the world’s 60 largest banks financed fossil fuels to the tune of $673 billion in 2022. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) topped the list, pouring $42.1 billion into the sector, and U.S. banks accounted for more than a quarter of all fossil fuel financing last year.

Some hope that courts could compel banks to change; BNP Paribas, Europe’s top fossil fuel financer, is already the target of the world’s first climate lawsuit against a commercial bank. And last month, thousands of people in the United States protested “dirty banks” in rallies organized by Bill McKibben’s group, Third Act.

“People are understanding that we have to pull the lever marked ‘politics,’ but also the one marked ‘finance,’” McKibben said. “They’re the only two levers big enough to really matter.”

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter.

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

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Image credit: Tim David (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

World’s Biggest Banks Poured $673 Billion Into Fossil Fuels Last Year

— By Dana Drugmand (7 min. read) —

While the window for avoiding the most catastrophic consequences of climate change narrows, the global banking sector continues to funnel huge sums each year into fossil fuels, finds a new report. Last year alone, the 60 largest banks financed fossil fuels to the tune of $673 billion.

That’s according to a new analysis released today by Rainforest Action Network and partner organizations. The latest Banking on Climate Chaos report, which annually examines global fossil fuel financing from major commercial and investor banks, reveals the extent to which banks are backing various categories of fossil fuels and their expansion. 

Petroleum Association and Controversial Waste Management Firm Sponsoring Events at Flagship Environmental Journalism Conference

— By Sam Bright (6 min. read) —

A trade association representing petroleum companies and a controversy-ridden waste management firm are sponsoring dinners at this year’s Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference, DeSmog can reveal. 

The agenda for the conference, which is being hosted in Boise, Idaho, shows that the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and the waste management company Veolia North America are sponsoring two of the “beat dinners” hosted on Friday, April 21 — the third day of the event. 

‘Bombshell’ 1989 Shell Memo Features in New Court Filing Alleging Climate Deception

— By Matthew Green (4 min. read) —

In October 1989, Shell researchers wrote a confidential report warning that climate-fuelled migration could swamp borders in the United States, Soviet Union, Europe, and Australia. “Conflict would abound,” the document said. “Civilisation could prove a fragile thing.” 

Now, that memo — first reported by DeSmog and Dutch investigative journalism platform Follow The Money — features in a new court brief alleging that Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP knowingly concealed the climate hazards of their fossil fuel products for decades. 

Kids’ Climate Case Advances in Hawaii

— By Dana Drugmand (4 min. read) —

A judge in Hawaii has cleared the way for a youth climate case challenging the state’s fossil fuel-dependent transportation system to proceed to trial. The case, which invokes the Hawaiian constitution’s environmental guarantees, will be the second climate trial based on constitutional claims in U.S. history, and the second one this year, when it goes to trial in September.

Gas Company in PR Offensive Ahead of Decision on Hydrogen Trial

— By Phoebe Cooke (9 min. read) —

A gas company has been accused of “greenwashing” in a North Yorkshire community ahead of a crunch decision on the UK’s first ‘hydrogen village’.

Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is bidding to host a two-year government-funded trial in Redcar, Teesside, to replace gas with ‘green’ hydrogen in around 2,000 homes. 

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA)

Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), founded in 1907, describes itself as the oldest petroleum trade association in the United States. Membership has included some of the largest oil, pipeline, and energy companies in the United States such as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Shell, Valero and numerous others. WSPA supports cap-and-trade programs while opposing any direct regulations of greenhouse gas emissions. The independent UK-based non-profit InfluenceMap gives the WSPA a poor, or “F” score on climate policy, noting it has specifically lobbied against policy in U.S state legislatures in California, Oregon, and Washington.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.