Whistleblowers Make Alarming Claims About Decades of Efforts to Mislead the Public: ‘Uniquely Dangerous and Under-Regulated’

Oil and gas companies’ disinformation campaigns about the effects of dirty fuels on the climate have been going on for years — and despite statements to the contrary discussed in a new study, the industry is not part of the solution to restart our rapidly warming planet to balance.

What’s happening?

Oil and gas companies tout their role in solving the climate crisis, but a federal investigation and whistleblowers indicate it’s all for show. Vox reported to Drilled.

The problems include misleading information about the overarching benefits of carbon capture and storage, as well as improved oil recovery – marketed as solutions and even ways to lead the United States’ efforts to reduce reduce heat-trapped pollution.

The report notes that carbon capture and storage, or CCS, will account for only 2.4% of carbon reductions in 2030, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate changeand it can be expensive.

Still, in feedback on videos about CCS it funded for children, ExxonMobil told creators to “emphasize the concept that carbon capture is difficult or difficult,” according to Vox.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) – where carbon dioxide is injected underground so that more oil can be extracted – has been turned into a new revenue stream for the ‘flush’ companies after industry lobbying – and only some of the carbon it captures remains recorded, according to the report.

Instead, it results in more pollution when the extracted oil is burned. In addition, this method is reported to use naturally occurring carbon instead of human-produced carbon 70% of the time, and oil companies can now receive $85 per tonne (approximately 1.1 US tons) in tax credits for carbon capture instead of the $10 per tonne was seized for the first payouts in 2008.

According to Drilled and Vox, the pipelines used to transport and store carbon are also incredibly dangerous. No one seems to know how much carbon goes in, how much escapes or how much comes out. This came to a head once, during a mysterious 2020 leak in Mississippi.

“These are not your grandmother’s pipelines,” Carolyn Raffensperger, director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, said in the Vox article. “They can be deadly. We talk about the kill zone or a fatality zone around a CO2 pipeline. We don’t talk about that with oil and gas pipelines. These are uniquely dangerous and under-regulated.”

Why is this important?

Much of the reporting was based on documents and information obtained by congressional representatives from a three-year investigation.

The oil companies stonewalled requests for information, provided heavily redacted documents if they gave up anything at all – and even sabotaged their own compliance. An Exxon employee said he had only submitted “a truly random collection of unimportant documents,” according to Vox.

Taken together, this is – the polluting nature of the industry, with its knowledge of that harm, and its disinformation operation to make it seem as if company can continue as normal – is known as greenwashing. The linking of CCS to EOR and the attempts to make more profits without taking into account the consequences are particularly worrying.

In addition to Exxon, Chevron, BP and Shell are on the cusp of “peak oil” and declining production rates – and “need EOR now more than ever,” according to Drilled and Vox of the pollution process. “By calling it a climate solution and tying it to a tax credit, they have not only made the process cheaper but also created a new revenue stream,” the report said.

What is being done about the oil and gas industry?

There have been efforts by lawmakers and journalists to hold these companies accountable. The report repeatedly returned to the idea that not extracting oil and gas at all is the best solution for the climate. This divestment is obviously the last thing the sector wants.

You can help reduce dependence on dirty energy and pollution by making even small changes. Choose one induction hoban electric one heat pumpor community solar energy. Cut your consumption of plasticand eat more plant-based meals. By working together we can pave the way to a cooler, safer future.

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