Recognizing that denial is no longer an option, the fossil fuel industry and its defenders are pivoting to acknowledging that climate change is real, and suggesting that they are in fact part of the solution.
Which would be funny if it weren’t so infuriating.
As we pointed out a couple weeks ago, the American Petroleum Institute is spending big bucks on the big lie that they are now committed to fighting climate change.
Last week, the industry gathered at Climate Week to talk about it, with Shell’s CEO, per Bloomberg, saying that “Ultimately, (the) Paris (agreement on climate) is going to be met… and that “natural gas could be a part of the solution.” (It can’t.)
Then Juliet Eilperin at the Washington Post reported on a closed-door meeting of industry executives making that same point on an audio recording.
When it comes to “whether it’s real, or not real,” the head of Baker Hostetler’s energy litigation arm said “that ship has sailed.” So they know, that we know, that it’s real.
But obviously they’re not going to act like it by transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy. Instead, they’re promoting the emissions reductions from switching from coal to gas, ignoring the fact that natural gas still emits far more greenhouse gasses than are safe. (Because anything more than zero is too much.)
So while the American Petroleum Institute’s vice president will say that “it’s a very serious issue” and that “there’s no denial” and they’re “part of the solution,” in reality they’re very much still in denial about the basic incompatibility of a fossil fuel industry and a safe climate.
And of course that’s very much on display by some of their front group champions. For example, a mere 38 minutes after Eilperin’s story was published, the Daily Caller ran an op-ed by Koch-joke Stephen Moore arguing that “if the rest of the world would follow America’s lead and use more natural gas,” everyone would be wealthier and the environment cleaner.
Which, yes, if all coal plants were transitioned to gas, it would be better for the environment. But it still wouldn’t be enough to stop climate change. Even if one ignores the evidence that methane leaks from fracking making it on par with coal in terms of emissions, and takes the claim that natural gas has half the climate pollution as coal at face value, gas still isn’t low-carbon-enough to be a viable long-term climate solution.
And the Daily Caller ran another remarkably similar piece the next day, this time from “reporter” Chris White, comparing Obama and Trump’s environmental legacies. (It seems weird to report on a President’s legacy over a year before he even finishes his first term, but okay…)
The one person White quotes to defend Trump’s environmental record? Myron Ebell, of the Koch-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute, and member of Trump’s EPA transition team. You know, exactly the sort of person would definitely provide an honest and unbiased account of Trump’s environmental record. (And in case you’re wondering, no, White did not disclose that the Daily Caller and Ebell are both funded by Koch money.)
So while the Koch network hasn’t (yet) publicly announced, a la Shell and API, that they are shifting to this new “no actually fossil fuels are a climate solution” form of denial, it seems to be happening just the same.
And to be fair to Shell’s CEO, lets hope he’s right that we meet the Paris goals. But that’ll only happen if no one believes it when they say gas can get us there.
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