February, 03 2022, 11:31am EDT
Big Oil Board Members Decline to Testify About Climate Pledges: CCI Statement
House Oversight Committee had asked board members from Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP to appear at a Feb. 8 hearing as part of the committee’s widening probe into climate disinformation
Chairwoman Maloney says new invitation for March 8 testimony is now “their last chance to cooperate”
WASHINGTON
The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform said today that board members from ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP "declined to appear" at a scheduled February 8 hearing to "evaluate fossil fuel companies' pledges to cut emissions and invest in cleaner sources of energy" as part of the committee's "ongoing investigation into the role of the fossil fuel industry in preventing meaningful action on global warming, including through misrepresenting the scale of industry efforts to address the crisis."
Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney is now asking the board members to testify on March 8, saying that the new date is "their last chance to cooperate" and that if they refuse to appear "they should expect further action" from the committee.
The February 8 hearing will now feature climate experts who will examine the companies' climate pledges.
In response, Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:
"Given all the loopholes and disinformation in their companies' 'net-zero' pledges, it's no wonder these board members are dodging the committee's request to testify. If they are paying attention, they know their companies' pledges are totally insufficient to avert climate catastrophe. No amount of spin can hide the reality that the fossil fuel industry is continuing to pollute and drive climate change.
"The American people deserve the truth about the fossil fuel industry's role in causing and lying about the climate crisis. If these board members refuse to testify, the committee should use its power to compel them to."
Background on Previous Oversight Hearing with Big Oil Executives
In an October 2021 hearing, the leading executives of the four oil and gas companies refused to commit under oath, during questioning from Chair Maloney and others, that their companies would stop spending money to oppose efforts to reduce emissions and combat climate change.
Background on Lawsuits Seeking to Hold Big Oil Accountable for Deceiving the Public About Climate Change
Since 2017, the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, as well as 20 city and county governments in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Washington, have filed lawsuits to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products' role in climate change.
The Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) helps cities and states across the country hold corporate polluters accountable for the massive impacts of climate change.
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'Shameful': Columbia Greenlights Police Crackdown on Anti-War Encampment
Even after dozens of students were arrested, hundreds "rushed to take the place of their classmates" and continued the protest.
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The arrests of dozens of Columbia University and Barnard College students on Thursday "galvanized" other supporters of Palestinian rights on the campuses, as hundreds of students occupied the school's western lawn after New York City police filled at least two buses with protesters who had been detained for setting up an encampment.
"Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest," chanted hundreds of students as they marched around the area where organizers had set up a tent encampment early Wednesday morning.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
As it has been in the past, the school has become a center of anti-war protests—and crackdowns by school officials and the police—since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in October.
Pro-Palestinian students and alumni have demanded that Columbia divest from companies that profit from Israel's apartheid policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and cancel its dual degree program with Tel Aviv University.
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"The incidents under review mostly took place in the West Bank and occurred before Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel," which was the catalyst for the current Israeli escalation in Gaza, reported ProPublica's Brett Murphy. "They include reports of extrajudicial killings by the Israeli Border Police; an incident in which a battalion gagged, handcuffed, and left an elderly Palestinian American man for dead; and an allegation that interrogators tortured and raped a teenager who had been accused of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails."
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