January, 10 2021, 11:00pm EDT
Bad Acting Big Oil Corporations Stockpiling Permits Before Trump Goes
WASHINGTON
A recent story in the Associated Press shows dozens of oil and gas corporations rushing to secure drilling permits before the Biden administration begins. Research from Western Values Project shows that companies boasting about combatting climate change racked up significant environmental violations and collaborated with other polluters. Some of the top offenders include EOG, Devon Energy, XTO and Oxy.
"Big Oil corporations are trying to rack up as many new drilling permits as they can before the Trump administration gets the boot while also claiming publicly to be addressing climate change. But oil and gas corporations are still setting themselves up to profit off our public lands while pouring tons of pollution into our environment. The only thing worse might be Trump's corrupt Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, enabling it," said Western Values Project director Jayson O'Neill.
Below is a look at some of the contradictory statements oil and gas corporations have been making about climate change, while continuing their corruption and polluting the planet:
- EOG Resources openly acknowledges human's role in climate change, yet they still violated permitting laws, barred their shareholders from setting emission targets, and bragged about their large lease inventory.
- While Oxy's CEO boasts about collaborating with the Biden administration on permitting and stepping back from oil and gas development, the company has rushed to stockpile drilling permits.
- Kaiser Francis Oil CEO and Joe Biden donor George Kaiser's own institute set aggressive targets to reduce oil use and greenhouse gas emissions, yet Kaiser Francis Oil has rushed to grab more oil and gas permits.
- Chesapeake Energy's acknowledgement of climate change hasn't stopped them from getting nearly $14M in environmental fines and 67 coronavirus lease suspensions.
Read the full research from Western Values Project here.
Western Values Project brings accountability to the national conversation about Western public lands and national parks conservation - a space too often dominated by industry lobbyists and their allies in government.
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