Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon gas station on July 29, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Exxon and Chevron posted record-high earnings for the second quarter of 2022 as energy stocks faltered in recent months.
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A pair of Democratic lawmakers on Friday accused the biggest oil companies in the United States of “cleansing” their public image and not doing enough to decarbonize quickly enough to meet targets. Climate Change.
Carolyn B. Maloney, chair of the lead investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Ro Khanna, member of the same committee and chair of the Environmental Oversight Subcommittee, sent a letter 31 pages long on Friday to the remaining members of the committee with the latest findings from their ongoing investigation into the fossil fuel industry.
Burning fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and cause global warming. The Oversight Committee began investigating what it called a “climate misinformation” campaign in September 2021 and held a hearing with top executives from the oil giants. gas on October 28 of that year.
The letter is the latest part in the committee’s effort to demonstrate that oil companies are not trying to reduce CO2 emissions fast enough, while also covering up their lack of participation.
“These documents demonstrate how the fossil fuel industry ‘cleans up’ its public image with promises and actions that oil and gas operators know will not reduce emissions in a meaningful way. makes sense, even if the industry actively transitions to a continuous lockdown of fossil fuel production for decades to come – actions that could undermine global efforts to avert catastrophic climate change “, the letter read.
These efforts are particularly frustrating because of the money the biggest oil companies are making today, Maloney and Khanna say.
“The failure of the fossil fuel industry to make meaningful investments during the long-term transition to cleaner energy is particularly unfortunate given the huge profits these companies are making. obtained at the expense of consumers – including nearly $100 billion in combined profits for exxon, letter V, Coverand BP only in the last two quarters,” the letter read.
The letter also details ways in which oil companies have failed to do enough to decarbonize their businesses and points to internal documents showing the companies are continuing to invest in production. fossil fuels and how to increase production.
“Each company has publicly committed to achieving ‘zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” the letter reads. “However, experts have found that not a single net commitment from BP, Shell, Exxon or Chevron matches the speed and scope of reductions needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and prevent it.” stop catastrophic climate change.”
The letter also points to documents showing how the industry is promoting natural gas as a long-term climate solution.
“In 2021, natural gas contributes to 34% of U.S. energy-related emissions and 22% of global emissions,” the letter read. “Documents obtained by the Commission show that fossil fuel companies and lobbying groups seek to openly position natural gas as a source of clean energy and as part of the transition to renewable energy, even as the industry is planning to expand natural gas production in the long term.”
Burning natural gas leads to less greenhouse gas emissions than burning coal or other fossil fuels for the same amount of energy, according to the US Energy Information Administration, but it still emits greenhouse gas emissions. Burning natural gas produces approx 117 pounds of carbon dioxide per million British thermal units (a measure of calorific value). That’s compared to 200 pounds for coal and 160 pounds for fuel oil.
Equally important, the production of natural gas lead to methane leakage during production process and methane is also a greenhouse gas. It’s a different greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but still contributes to global warming.
Oil companies stand firm and deny accusations
The oil companies targeted in this investigation categorically deny the House Committee’s allegations.
“The Commission’s fourteen-month investigation, which included hours of executive testimony and nearly half a million pages of documents, failed in every way to uncover evidence of a campaign climate misinformation,” said Curtis Smith, head of communications for Shell North America. CNBC. “In fact, some of the convened documents the Commission has chosen to highlight from Shell are evidence of the company’s far-reaching efforts in setting aggressive goals, transforming its portfolio and meaningfully participate in the ongoing energy transition.”
Exxon claimed House Committee lawmakers were dishonest in representing the oil company’s involvement.
“Our CEO was sworn to testify on this subject in two day-long congressional hearings before two separate committees, we have been in regular communication with the committee for over a year. and has provided employees with over a million pages of documentation, including board documents and internal communications,” Todd Spitler, Exxon’s senior advisor for corporate media relations, told. CNBC.
“The House Oversight Committee report sought to misrepresent ExxonMobil’s position on climate science and its support for effective policy solutions, by turning domestic policy debates into a negative light. ministry, well-intentioned into a corporate disinformation campaign If specific members of the committee are so sure they’re right, why should they take so much out of context to prove your point?”
The industry trade group, the American Petroleum Institute, says it is focused on providing safe energy sources and tackling climate change at the same time.
“Our industry is focused on continuing to produce affordable, reliable energy while addressing the climate challenge, and every accusation to the contrary is false. The oil and gas industry U.S. natural resources have contributed to the significant progress the United States has made in reducing U.S. CO2 emissions to near generational lows with increase use of natural gas“, Megan Bloomgren, senior vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, told CNBC.
The API also points to the industry’s focus on developing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen technologies.
“We are poised to be at the forefront of the next generation of low-carbon technologies, including CCUS and Hydrogen — technologies widely recognized as critical to meeting the world’s emissions reduction targets. API will continue to work with policymakers on both sides as the goal Bloomgren said policies support innovation in the industry and continue to make the progress we have made in reducing the amount of emissions.
Chevron declined to comment. In June, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden stating that the oil and gas company has produced the highest amount of oil and gas in its 143-year history. in 2021. And Wirth pointed out that the carbon emissions associated with the oil and gas company segments are well below the global average.
“With about 15 kg of CO2 equivalent per barrel, the carbon intensity in the Permian Basin of Chevron is about two-thirds lower than the global industry average. U.S. Gulf of Mexico production has a carbon intensity of only about two-thirds of the global industry average. a fraction of the global industry average,” wrote Wirth. In the letter, Wirth also said the oil company is investing $10 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scale up carbon and hydrogen capture technologies, and develop renewable liquid fuel production.
BP did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
