Message From the Editor

In the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions, gasoline prices spiked, briefly touching a record high of $4.43 a gallon. But this pain at the pump for American drivers has deeper roots. Federal rules shape the menu of cars, SUVs, and trucks offered to consumers by requiring automakers to achieve fleet-wide averages on fuel efficiency. And a quick look back shows the oil industry’s fingerprints (alongside those of car manufacturers) on gambits to grind down those fuel efficiency standards, leaving everyday Americans more dependent on oil. Sharon Kelly has the story [[link removed]].

A coalition of healthcare professionals and climate finance organizations are calling on hospitals to divest their pension and retirement funds from fossil fuels, citing the severe public health hazards from climate change. Around the world, more than 1,500 institutions have announced divestments from fossil fuels and a coalition of healthcare professionals and climate finance organizers called “First, Do No Harm” are demanding that hospitals and healthcare institutions sever their financial ties with fossil fuels. Read on [[link removed]].

In the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Canada Proud, a right-wing Facebook page with close ties to the Conservative Party, made post after post urging the country to export more hydrocarbons to Europe. This is merely the latest variation on a message that Canada Proud has pushed online for years: that we need to remove as many restrictions as possible on the production, transport, and export of fossil fuels. New research shows that Canada Proud is incredibly effective at spreading that message. Geoff Dembicki reports [[link removed]].

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [[email protected]].

Thanks,

Brendan DeMelle

Executive Director

P.S. We’re excited about the news, investigations, and analysis we’ve got lined up and are so grateful for donors who make our public interest journalism possible. If you’d like to help, can you donate $10 or $20 right now? [[link removed]]

Decades of Lobbying Weakened Americans’ Gas Mileage and Turbocharged Pain at the Pump [[link removed]]— By Sharon Kelly (8 min. read)—

For roughly a decade, the U.S. oil industry and its backers touted American oil abundance and “energy dominance.” But in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions, gasoline prices immediately spiked 79 cents a gallon in the span of two weeks, briefly touching a record high of $4.43 a gallon and the market’s been in turmoil ever since.

Domestic oil drillers have proved unable or unwilling to offer drivers rapid relief, with one oil executive warning that shale companies were already struggling and would not be able to increase production. Indeed, weekly crude oil production in the United States hovered at 11.6 million barrels a day through February and into mid-March, federal data shows — down from pre-pandemic heights of over 13 million.

READ MORE [[link removed]] Healthcare Workers Call on Hospitals and Medical Institutions to Divest From Fossil Fuels [[link removed]]​​​​​​​— Nick Cunningham (3 min. read) —

A coalition of healthcare professionals and climate finance organizations are calling on hospitals to divest their pension and retirement funds from fossil fuels, citing the severe public health hazards from climate change.

“The research on the severe, ubiquitous and accelerating consequences to public health from climate change is unequivocal,” Dr. Ashley McClure, a primary care physician and co-Executive Director of the California-based nonprofit Climate Health Now, said in a statement. “Just as many leading health organizations have divested from tobacco companies given the unacceptable health harms of their products, our institutions must now invest in alignment with public health and collective safety by urgently divesting our resources from the coal, oil, and gas corporations fueling the climate crisis.”

READ MORE [[link removed]] Conservative Party-Linked Facebook Page, Canada Proud, a Major Source of Climate Disinformation​​​​​​ [[link removed]]​— By Geoff Dembicki (5 min. read)—

As Russian forces advanced towards Kyiv, Canada’s oil and gas industry and its supporters responded with a self-serving narrative: the Ukraine crisis means Canada must accelerate its production of fossil fuels.

Leading the charge is Canada Proud, a right-wing Facebook page with close ties to the Conservative Party, which made post after post in the early days of the invasion urging the country to export more hydrocarbons to Europe.

“The world is enriching Vladimir Putin when they buy his oil and gas,” it explained in one to its nearly 400,000 followers. “Shouldn’t the world be buying Canadian oil and gas instead?”

READ MORE [[link removed]] Legal Action Against Shell Board Previews Wave of Lawsuits Against Company Directors​​​​​​​ [[link removed]]— By Isabella Kaminski (9 min. read) —

Boards should prepare for legal action based on their response to climate change, a DeSmog investigation has found.

Lawyers, insurers, and campaigners have been anticipating litigation against company directors for some time and say the chances are only growing as corporate requirements to address climate risks get tougher.

Today, March 15, ClientEarth announced it was taking legal action against energy giant Shell’s board of directors, arguing that their failure to properly prepare the company for net zero carbon emissions breaches their legal duties.

READ MORE [[link removed]] EU Parliament Backs ‘Urgent’ Calls to Address Climate Disinformation​​​​​​​ [[link removed]]— By Phoebe Cooke (3 min. read)—

The EU has become the first ever policymaking body to officially acknowledge the urgency of defining and tackling climate disinformation.

Lawmakers at the EU Parliament overwhelmingly backed a report last week calling on the EU to “prepare better to fight off foreign interference and disinformation” including from “malicious and authoritarian countries such as Russia and China”.

The report further urged MEPs to “urgently address climate mis- and disinformation” and to implement a “global code of conduct”. Misinformation refers to the accidental sharing of false information, whereas disinformation implies malicious intent.

READ MORE [[link removed]] From the Climate Disinformation Database: [[link removed]]Manufacturers’ Accountability Project (MAP)

The National Association of Manufacturers [[link removed]] (NAM) quietly launched the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project [[link removed]] (MAP) in November 2017 to push back against climate change–related lawsuits affecting the manufacturing industry. “We’ve launched what we’ve called the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project and the intention is to push back on the use of lawsuits funded by activists to target manufacturers for a variety of problems, including we’re looking at the climate lawsuits,” Linda Kelly, Senior vice president and general counsel of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and “lead on the NAM’s Manufacturers’ Accountability Project (MAP),” told the Washington Examiner in an interview.

Read its full profile [[link removed]] and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database [[link removed]] and Koch Network Database [[link removed]].

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