Message From the Editor

Our UK team analyzed more than a thousand Facebook and Instagram ads placed by ten European auto and airline brands in the last year. It found that these ads by and large either greenwash polluting projects or ignore the climate crisis altogether. “These adverts are dangerous because they reassure consumers, when they are actually making choices that increase the likelihood of devastating climate impacts,” says Silvia Pastorelli of Greenpeace. Rachel Sherrington investigates.

Last week, Nick Cunningham shed light on an Oregon-based gas utility’s attempts to raise customers’ rates—and use the profits to pay for executive bonuses and advertising that Earthjustice and other campaigners have called “misleading.” Nick’s work is making waves; this week, Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Think Out Loud” show interviewed him about the story. You can catch the interview here, and if you haven’t read the investigation yet, dive in.

Accused of misleading the public for decades on the promise of plastic recycling, oil and chemical companies are pushing a new idea: “advanced recycling.” Environmental advocates, however, say it’s more of the same old greenwash and litigators hope holding companies accountable for past lies might prevent the spread of a new one. In late April, California attorney general Rob Bonta launched an investigation into ExxonMobil for its role in exacerbating the global plastic pollution crisis. Read on.

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

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle

Executive Director

P.S. Our powerful public interest journalism is funded by our generous donors. If you’d like to help, can you chip in $10 or $20 right now?

Revealed: How Car and Airline Advertising ‘Misleads’ the Public and Threatens Climate Action​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

— By Rachel Sherrington (8 min. read)—

Major car and airline companies are using adverts that greenwash their business while continuing to push highly polluting products that put the world’s climate goals at risk, DeSmog can reveal.

A DeSmog investigation, commissioned by Greenpeace Netherlands, analysed more than a thousand Facebook and Instagram adverts placed by ten well-known European transport brands in the last year.

Oregon Gas Utility Wants to Bill Customers Millions for Executive Bonuses and ‘Misleading’ Advertising

— By Nick Cunningham (10 min. read) —

NW Natural, a gas utility based in Oregon, is seeking to raise gas bills on its customers in order to pay for millions in executive bonuses, higher returns to shareholders, and a larger advertising budget. It is also hoping to saddle ratepayers with costs associated with the utility’s political activities, in which the company engaged in “misleading” marketing to perpetuate the use of gas at a time when the state is attempting to electrify homes and businesses, a coalition of environmental organizations led by Earthjustice argue in a formal proceeding.

Exxon Doubles Down on ‘Advanced Recycling’ Claims That Yield Few Results

— By Amy Westervelt, The Guardian (5 min. read) —

Accused of misleading the public for decades on the promise of plastic recycling, oil and chemical companies are pushing a new idea: “advanced recycling.” Environmental advocates, however, say it’s more of the same old greenwash and litigators hope holding companies accountable for past lies might prevent the spread of a new one.

In late April, California attorney general Rob Bonta launched an investigation into ExxonMobil for its role in exacerbating the global plastic pollution crisis. Bonta says he was partly inspired by a 2020 investigation from NPR and Frontline that showed how companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Dow, and Dupont were aware of the inefficacy of plastic recycling, yet they still strategized marketing campaigns that told a different story to the public.

As California Considers Dropping Fossil Fuels from Major Pension Funds, New Report Calls Out ‘Misinformation’ on Costs​​​​​​​

— By Sharon Kelly (7 min. read)—

A newly published report by Fossil Free California finds California’s pension fund managers are circulating divestment “misinformation” by exaggerating the costs involved in shedding their fossil fuel investments in documents prepared for state lawmakers.

California lawmakers are currently considering Senate Bill 1173 (SB-1173), California’s Fossil Fuel Divestment Act, which would require the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), to stop investing in fossil fuels before the decade is out. The move would impact billions of dollars currently invested in oil, gas, or coal on behalf of California’s teachers, firefighters, and other public employees.

GB News Appoints Chairman Who Spent Years Promoting Climate Denial​​​​​​​

— By Adam Barnett (5 min. read)—

The new chairman of GB News has a history of sharing articles that dismiss the threat of climate change, sharpening concerns about the TV channel’s role as a platform for opponents of climate action.  

Between 2013 and 2017, United Arab Emirates-based investment manager Alan McCormick tweeted numerous articles by climate science deniers, including one calling on readers to “celebrate carbon dioxide.”

From the Climate Disinformation Database: American Chemistry Council

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) describes itself as “the leading association representing the $553-billion U.S chemicals industry.” It “represents a diverse set of companies” and delivers “value” to members through “best-in class member engagement, political advocacy, communications and scientific research,” according to its website. ACC members listed on its website include subsidiaries of Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, and BP as well as four out of the five largest pesticides manufacturers in the world — Bayer, BASF, FMC, and Corteva.

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