Message From the Editor
This week, DeSmog and Dutch outlet Follow The Money dove into new Shell documents published on Climate Files that could help strengthen lawsuits aiming to hold the oil major to account for climate damages.
Among the files, unearthed by a Dutch climate activist, there is a 1970 industry journal article where Shell appears to accept responsibility for harms caused by its products. A trove of Shell publications from the 1980s and 1990s foresee the “major adverse changes” the “greenhouse effect” is liable to cause to the climate. Find these documents and more in the new article on our website.
These latest materials add to the initial documents revealed by DeSmog in April of last year which showed that even as Shell’s awareness of climate change grew, the company downplayed or omitted key risks in public communications; emphasized scientific uncertainties; and pushed for more fossil fuels. Climate attorneys say these documents could be a valuable resource in upcoming lawsuits against the fossil fuel giant.
Over in Canada, Alberta Premiere Danielle Smith’s latest attack on Canada’s carbon tax laws includes a misleading argument about electrified home heating.
A major cold snap led to record electricity usage in the Canadian province of Alberta over the weekend, culminating in demands from provincial utilities to limit consumption. While Canada’s federal government is incentivizing the installation of heat pumps to transition off oil and gas for home heating, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly warned against them.
Her misleading statements include that heat pumps don’t work well in the cold, which seems to be a holdover from an era when the technology was less sophisticated, and comments about home insurance. Read about the truth behind these statements and more in the new article by Taylor Noakes.
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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: Sabrina Bedford
New Shell Files Could Aid Climate Cases, Attorneys Say
— By Matthew Green and Merel de Buck (11 min. read) —
Newly-discovered Shell documents dating back decades could help strengthen lawsuits aiming to hold the oil major to account for climate damages, climate attorneys say.
Among the files, reported for the first time today by DeSmog and Follow The Money, and published on Climate Files, there is a 1970 industry journal article where Shell appears to accept responsibility for harms caused by its products. A trove of Shell publications from the 1980s and 1990s foresee the “major adverse changes” the “greenhouse effect” is liable to cause to the climate.
What Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Gets Wrong About Heat Pumps
— By Taylor Noakes (7 min. read) —
A major cold snap led to record electricity usage in the Canadian province of Alberta over the weekend, culminating in demands from provincial utilities to limit consumption. The extreme cold and record-setting electrical consumption has reignited local debates about whether heat pumps are a viable option in the province.
While Canada’s federal government is interested in helping Canadians transition off oil and gas for home heating — and is incentivizing the installation of heat pumps — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly warned against them.
Conservative Faction Receives £50,000 from GB News Owner
— By Sam Bright (7 min. read) —
The ‘New Conservatives’ group of Tory MPs received a £50,000 donation in December from the investment fund behind GB News, DeSmog can reveal.
New Electoral Commission records show that the Legatum Institute Foundation gave the sum in December last year, the joint-largest recorded donation to the Conservative faction.
UK Energy Secretary Meets And Praises Climate Science Denier Reform Candidate
— By Adam Barnett (5 min. read) —
The UK government’s most senior climate minister has publicly celebrated a petrol campaigner who wants to “scrap net zero” and claims “man is not responsible for global warming”.
In a post from her official X account on Tuesday, Claire Coutinho, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), endorsed the “persistence” of Howard Cox, director of the FairFuelUK lobby group that campaigns against charges on motorists.
North Sea Bill’s Carbon Emissions Test is a ‘Smokescreen’ And ‘Makes No Sense’ — Experts
— By Adam Barnett and Phoebe Cooke (4 min. read) —
A climate test in the new North Sea oil and gas bill is “misleading” and greatly overplays the UK’s climate leadership, scientists and campaigners have warned.
MPs are today (Monday) set to debate the second reading of the controversial Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which would allow oil and gas companies to bid for North Sea licenses every year.
From the Climate Disinformation Database: The Global Climate Coalition
The Global Climate Coalition was an outspoken industry group based in the United States opposing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the coalition disbanded in 2002, some members including the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute continue to lobby against emissions reductions. Early members included Amoco, the American Forest & Paper Association, American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, Chrysler, Cyprus AMAX Minerals, Exxon, Ford, General Motors, Shell Oil, Texaco, the United States Chamber of Commerce and more than 40 other corporations and trade associations. According to GCC’s mission statement, “Existing scientific evidence does not support actions aimed solely at reducing or stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions. GCC does support actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to increase greenhouse gas sinks that are justified for other economic or environmental reasons.”
Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.
