Congressional Committee Report on Oil and Gas Industry Climate Disinformation Shows Further Investigation Warranted

Today, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform will release a new report on its investigation into oil and gas industry climate disinformation, underway for more than a year.

Below is a statement by Kathy Mulvey, the accountability campaign director at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS):

"New evidence released today further confirms what we know to be true--the companies and trade associations under investigation have followed a well-established playbook that includes greenwashing with misleading or outright false claims about their climate-related actions. Such tactics aim to undermine the urgent need to sharply reduce heat-trapping emissions and to stall and obstruct oversight and accountability.

"This investigation is a critical step forward in holding Big Oil accountable for its decades of deception and harm. With clear evidence in hand, the path toward justice for communities harmed by oil and gas company misconduct is within reach. But this is only the beginning--the reports and internal documents released today underscore the importance of continued scrutiny of fossil fuel industry malfeasance. Congress, the Biden administration, public prosecutors, investors all have a role to play.

"The committee's findings and the evidence released pursuant to its investigation are also highly relevant to litigation that seeks to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for climate damages and deception. For communities across the United States and its territories, new evidence from the report could support climate accountability lawsuits challenging BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute."

To speak with Mulvey, please contact UCS Communications Officer Sanjali De Silva via email at sdesilva@ucsusa.org or by phone at (303)-396-7325.