Senate Budget Committee Releases Damning Report on Big Oil's Climate Deception Day Before Hearing

Today, the Senate Budget Committee, led by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, released a report detailing the fossil fuel industry's decades-long campaign of climate deception and delay. The report, which comes a day before the committee's hearing investigating Big Oil's role in the climate crisis, sheds new light on the industry's efforts to mislead the American people about the catastrophic impacts of their products on our climate.

The documents show that the oil majors were never serious about meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and have instead used a false-commitment to climate action as cover to push false solutions like methane gas and carbon capture.

"This report is a scathing indictment of the fossil fuel industry's lies and corruption," said Cassidy DiPaola, spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign. "As the impacts of the climate crisis worsen, from deadly heat waves to devastating floods and wildfires, it's never been more important to hold polluters accountable for the damage they've knowingly caused. The Senate Budget Committee's investigation is a critical step towards justice, and it’s time the Biden Administration follows suit.”

Momentum for holding polluters accountable is growing across the country. Several states and cities, including California, Hawaii, and Chicago have filed lawsuits against Big Oil for climate damages and fraud. Climate superfund bills, which would make polluters pay into state funds to help communities prepare for and recover from climate disasters, are also rapidly moving forward in states like Vermont and California.

A new poll released by Fossil Free Media and Data for Progress today found that 72% of voters are angry to learn that oil companies lied to Americans about fossil fuel’s impact on the climate, even as they knew it was accelerating global warming. Furthermore, 66% of likely voters—including 89% of Democrats—support the passage of a climate superfund bill that would make oil companies cover the cost of climate damage caused by their pollution, and 63% of voters under 45 and 66% of Black voters are more inclined to support a candidate that prioritizes the passage of a climate superfund bill—a key finding as the Biden administration looks to galvanize its voting base ahead of what is likely to be another record-setting year for climate disasters.