Message From the Editor

This week, Congressional Democrats are requesting a Department of Justice investigation into potential violations of federal law by big oil companies.

Investigative journalist Dana Drugmand’s article looks at a new letter sent to the Attorney General that highlights recent evidence, including internal Shell documents first reported by DeSmog. These files show that Shell sponsored climate research in the 1970s — years earlier than previously thought.

The letter, which had 20 congressional signatories, requests that the DOJ now open an investigation into ExxonMobil, Shell, and other oil majors to “determine whether they violated RICO, consumer protection, truth in advertising, public health, or other laws.”

Across the ocean in the United Kingdom, fossil fuel giants are using British influencers to go viral. The article by Dimitris Dimitriadis, Joey Grostern and Sam Bright show these companies are pushing false solutions to the climate crisis and attempting to manufacture a more family friendly image.

The campaigns have been deployed across a number of social media platforms and are part of a global effort to give “millennials a reason to connect emotionally” with oil and gas firms, and to tackle their perception as “the bad guys”.

On an exciting note, DeSmog has relaunched our instagram! We’ll be recapping some of most important stories and creating easily shareable graphics for breaking news. Be sure to give us a follow and stay tuned for all we have coming on that platform.

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

P.S. Investigative journalism like this is made possible by readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: Scott (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Congressional Dems Request DOJ Investigation into Big Oil’s Climate Deception

— By Dana Drugmand (4 min. read) —

Citing “new evidence” of Big Oil firms’ advanced knowledge of climate risks and their actions to publicly conceal these risks, Democratic members of Congress are renewing calls for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate carbon majors for potential violations of federal law.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, the 20 congressional signatories compare Big Oil’s deceptive conduct to that of Big Tobacco. In 2006, major tobacco firms were convicted of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in litigation brought by the DOJ. The letter requests that the DOJ now open an investigation into ExxonMobil, Shell, and other oil majors to “determine whether they violated RICO, consumer protection, truth in advertising, public health, or other laws.”

Revealed: Fossil Fuel Giants Are Using British Influencers to go Viral

— By Dimitris Dimitriadis, Joey Grostern and Sam Bright (9 min. read) —

Oil and gas supermajors including Shell and BP are using UK influencers to push false solutions to the climate crisis and manufacture a more family friendly image, DeSmog can reveal.

The influencers have included a popular former BBC presenter, a polar explorer, and an exasperated father of five who needs a break and finds it in the form of BP’s rewards app.

Why Polluters’ Greenwashing Works and How to Fight It

— By Stella Levantesi (7 min. read) —

A young man goes up a mountain to study the terrain and collect data on his laptop, while epic, orchestral violins play in the background. He’s an ExxonMobil scientist in a company ad that also shows other scientists in a high-tech lab working to develop “low-carbon technologies.” The tagline reads “Advancing Climate Solutions.” 

The ad uses natural landscapes, futuristic-looking environments, and emotional music to evoke a positive feeling in viewers and to promote the idea that ExxonMobil is not only associated with sustainable business choices but also supporting climate solutions, rather than producing polluting fossil fuels and investing in high-carbon activities that cause climate change. To top it all off, the claim in the tagline promotes the perception that ExxonMobil, and fossil fuel companies more generally, are “part of the solution.” 

Sizing up Big Food’s Appetite for Change

— By Hazel Healy and Rachel Sherrington (2 min. read) —

“Eating less meat is like taking 8 [million] cars off road”. Last week’s BBC headline is the kind that’s guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of food corporations, which are increasingly under pressure to cut pollution, just like the fossil fuel industry.

The evidence against big agriculture’s role in driving the climate crisis is growing. A March study found that without decisive action, emissions from the food system alone will push the planet over 1.5C of global warming.

Tory London Mayor Candidate Backed Fracking and Promoted Climate Science Denial

— By Adam Barnett (5 min. read) —

Susan Hall, the Conservative Party candidate for London mayor, has opposed key climate policies, backed the reintroduction of fracking and promoted articles online which spread climate science denial, DeSmog can reveal.

She has been accused of trying to “undermine” climate science when the impact of human-caused climate change is making headlines amid a summer heatwave in Europe.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Global Warming Policy Foundation

The Global Warming Policy Foundation is a UK-based think tank founded by former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson with the purpose of combating what it describes as “extremely damaging and harmful policies” designed to mitigate climate change. Nigel Lawson described the GWPF as an “all-party and non-party think-tank and a registered educational charity which, while open-minded on the contested science of global warming, is deeply concerned about the costs and other implications of many of the policies currently being advocated.” Although Lawson claims to be “open minded” on global warming, the GWPF website has a banner depicting a short-term temperature graph that suggests the world is not warming.

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