Message From the Editor

For the first time in 14 years, the Conservative Party will not be in power in the U.K. after this week’s election. What does that mean in the battle for climate change and how will it impact DeSmog’s priority to root out greenwashing? The new Labour government pledged to turbocharge a green energy transition. But if what’s going on in London is any indication, it will face big challenges.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Labour Party member, set his “zero carbon city” goal in 2018. Yet, since that time, the city’s public transportation network hosted more than 240 advertising campaigns for oil and gas companies, including Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil.

Using freedom of information (FOI) requests, DeSmog found that oil major BP was the most prolific fossil fuel advertiser on the Transport for London (TfL) network since the mayor pledged to zero out London’s carbon emissions by 2050 (later updated to 2030), placing 168 campaigns during the 2019-2020 fiscal year alone.

Khan now faces calls to scrub fossil fuel advertising from its public areas. But scrubbing ads from Big Oil is not limited to London. Last week we talked about Canada passing anti-greenwashing legislation. Now, if a company is found to be misleading the public with false environmental claims, it could be fined up to $10 million. That’s a pretty strong incentive to get your story straight on environmental assertions.

Naturally, fossil fuel companies falsely touting carbon capture and storage across Canada were the first to scramble and delete misleading claims on their websites about the unproven technology. Desmog reporter Taylor Noakes found dozens of Canadian oil companies, fossil fuel lobby groups, and third-party advertisers changed their tune about CCS by removing almost all carbon capture content. These projects have consistently under-delivered on promises of capturing and storing carbon, and have almost exclusively been used to increase oil production.

When push came to shove, the truth about CCS won out. Canada’s on the right path to rid the advertising sphere of these false claims: Maybe the UK and U.S. can follow?

Send us your story tips or feedback: [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: Adfree Cities

Canada Oil Companies Delete Carbon Capture Mentions on Websites Before New Regulations Kick in

— By Taylor Noakes (5 min. read) —

Canadian oil companies, fossil fuel lobby groups, and third-party advertisers are scrubbing their websites of content related to carbon capture and storage in the wake of new legal greenwashing guidelines.

DeSmog recently reported that a coalition of Canadian tar sands producers — the Pathways Alliance — had scrubbed its website of all content on June 19, in anticipation of changes to Canada’s Competition Act. The amendments require any organization making claims about the potential environmental benefits of their product, service, or project to provide evidence of those claims.

Revealed: Hundreds of Ad Campaigns by Oil and Gas Companies Have Appeared on London Public Transport Since Mayor’s Carbon Zero Pledge

— By TJ Jordan (7 min. read) —

London’s public transport network has hosted more than 240 advertising campaigns by oil and gas companies including Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil since Mayor Sadiq Khan set his “zero carbon city” goal in 2018, DeSmog can reveal.

The findings come after United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a worldwide fossil fuel advertising ban, arguing that advertising companies were serving as “enablers to planetary destruction” by greenwashing polluting clients.

A Plea to the Next Government From Young People: We Need Spaces to Learn the Difficult Truth About Climate, Together

— By Jadzia Tedeschi (4 min) —

Labour, which is likely to win the next general election, has just published its disappointing manifesto. While we should not look to the next government for an answer to climate breakdown, it is especially unfortunate that Labour is backing out of preexisting promises to provide adequate climate education. If the leaders of today cannot provide the far-sighted direction we need, let’s at least make sure those of us who are to inherit this tormented world have the tools to navigate it.

As a woman in her twenties who has worked to promote mainstream climate action with the Climate Majority Project for the past two years, here are my thoughts on the kind of education we need in the coming decades.

Revealed: Industry-led West Africa Fishery Protection Measures Marred By ‘Massive Conflicts of Interest’

— By Brigitte Wear, Hazel Healy and Michaela Herrmann (22 min. read) —

Flagship initiatives to ensure “responsible sourcing” for the global aquafeed industry in West Africa are being undermined by systemic conflicts of interest, endangering efforts to safeguard critical fish stocks, DeSmog can reveal.

The findings raise concerns at a time of growing evidence of the harms caused by the fishmeal industry in the region, prompting accusations of “greenwashing” from campaigners.

Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage Spreads Climate Denial with Conspiracy Groups in Clacton-on-Sea

— By Adam Barnett (6 min. read) —

Nigel Farage has attacked “the net zero agenda” at a campaign event with two climate science denial groups in Clacton-on-Sea, where he is standing for parliament in tomorrow’s (4 July) general election. 

The Reform UK leader made the comments at a meeting organised by the Together Declaration, an anti-Covid vaccine group which campaigns against the UK’s net zero targets, and the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), which has claimed climate policies are based on an “eco-fraud”. Both groups have publicly backed Reform’s election platform.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) describes itself describes itself as “the voice of Canada’s upstream oil and natural gas industry.” CAPP members are responsible for about 80% of natural gas and crude oil production in Canada. Members reportedly have revenues from oil and natural gas production of about $101 billion per year. As of 2020, CAPP‘s “climate change” page on its website suggested LNG exports are an effective way to meet climate change goals, and it describes LNG as “the coal alternative.”

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