Armed with information that could save countless lives and our planet from imminent doom, they did exactly what you would expect. No, not spring into action, alert the authorities or attempt to use their significant financial might and technical prowess to start developing solutions. Instead, Big Oil companies reportedly spent millions of dollars on a global public deception campaign that spanned decades to make the science seem unclear that climate change was real and cast doubt on the role of fossil fuels. Their updated playbook appears to be to accept the reality of fossil fuel caused climate change but insist that fossil fuels are needed to address energy poverty and provide resilience in the face of climate change.
If the current case ends up in the Supreme Court, it's hard to imagine the court clearly and firmly ruling against Big Oil. (It's worth noting Justice Amy Coney Barrett's father reportedly spent three decades as an attorney at Shell Oil and was a respected member of the American Petroleum Institute.)
Congress started holding public hearings about Big Oil's climate deception in November 2021 and is continuing to do so. Now the Senate Budget Committee is reportedly seeking to hire staffers with experience "investigating fossil fuel influence campaigns."
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