DeSmog Canadahas a post covering
InfluenceMap's new report, which demonstrates that even though some of the biggest oil and gas companies make public announcements about the need for climate action, they simultaneously fund groups that lobby against such policies.
Companies like Shell and Total have publicly stated that they support efforts like a price on carbon while funding trade groups that lobby politicians to do the opposite. For example, Shell is a member of two business lobby groups, which advocate directly against the climate action that Shell claims to want. The connection between Shell and these lobby groups is based on more than just funding, however. Shell executives sit on the board of one group and chair a Green Taxation Working Group in the other.
The report draws similar parallels for other companies, each with an executive-level connection to the anti-climate trade group: Total, BP, Chevron, and yes, Exxon.
While it's comforting to say that public support for climate action is so great that even fossil fuel companies think we should put a price on carbon, their continued support and leadership in anti-climate lobby groups shows that they're putting their money where their mouth isn't.
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