While fossil fuel executives spent decades telling the public everything was fine, their own scientists were quietly documenting how burning oil and gas would cook the planet. The whole charade started in the 1950s and 60s when companies like Exxon and Shell discovered the inconvenient truth about their products. Their response? Bury the findings and gaslight everyone.
These weren’t subtle deceptions. Industry executives literally acknowledged climate risks in private meetings while funding massive campaigns to make the public think climate science was sketchy. They poured millions into think tanks, front groups, and lobbying efforts designed to manufacture doubt. The tobacco playbook, basically, but with higher stakes.
They poured millions into manufacturing doubt while privately acknowledging climate risks
The tactics evolved over time. First came outright denial. Then they pivoted to calling natural gas a “bridge fuel” – internal documents show they knew this was nonsense. Now they’re all about carbon capture and net-zero pledges. Spoiler alert: their own memos reveal they think these targets are impossible. But hey, great PR.
What’s wild is how they weaponized academia and social media. They sponsored research that conveniently downplayed environmental impacts. They funded influencers to spread climate doubt. They hired armies of lawyers and PR firms to attack scientists and activists who called them out. Their campaigns included harassment of scientists who dared to publish research contradicting industry talking points.
The damage goes beyond melting ice caps. These misinformation campaigns poisoned democratic debate for decades. While citizens argued about whether climate change was real, fossil fuel lobbyists were busy gutting environmental regulations and buying politicians. The industry spent 125 million on lobbying in 2022 alone, dwarfing climate advocacy spending by 27 times. This lobbying has contributed to policy delays that exacerbate air pollution, which now causes 8.1 million deaths globally each year.
Now they’re getting sued. Courts are seeing evidence of deliberate deception – PR memos, marketing materials, executive emails showing they knew exactly what they were doing. Multiple states and cities want these companies to pay for climate damages.
The industry’s latest move? Claiming their decades of lies are protected free speech. Because apparently deceiving the public about an existential threat is just exercising First Amendment rights.
The legal battles ahead will determine whether corporations can lie their way to profits while the planet burns. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
References
- https://www.ucs.org/climate/accountability
- https://www.americanprogress.org/article/these-fossil-fuel-industry-tactics-are-fueling-democratic-backsliding/
- https://climateintegrity.org/news/view/fossil-fuel-companies-paid-for-proof-of-their-climate-destruction-in-1954
- https://www.ucs.org/resources/holding-major-fossil-fuel-companies-accountable
- https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fossil_fuel_report1.pdf
