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stop the oil profiteering
US Billboard Campaign Blasts Fossil Fuel Giants for Causing Extreme Heat
"From Alaska to Maui, our communities are struggling to survive the rapidly worsening impacts of the climate crisis, all the while, Big Oil is raking in billions at our expense."
Aug 24, 2023
As about 111 million people in nearly two dozen states continued to face heat advisories, with temperatures reaching as high at 115°F in some cities, the nonprofit media lab Fossil Free Media unveiled a multicity campaign with one simple goal: ensuring that all Americans understand that the intense heatwaves across much of the country this summer have not been a natural phenomenon, but the result of continued fossil fuel extraction.
Starting Thursday drivers along stretches of highway in Phoenix, Arizona; Austin, Texas; and Fresno, California will pass by prominent billboards displaying a map of record-breaking temperatures that have been recorded across the U.S. this summer.
Fresno drivers will be reminded of a 109°F day in their city while those in Phoenix will see 117°F plastered over their hometown on the map, accompanied by the words, "Brought to you by Big Oil" and ThankYouBigOil.com.
That website redirects to Fossil Free Media's (FFM) Stop the Oil Profiteering (STOP) project, where visitors can read about the estimated cost of climate-related disasters such as hurricanes, extreme heat, and wildfires—over $600 billion from 2016-20 alone—and the 5,000 people killed by such events in that same time period.
"The fossil fuel industry has known for decades that their products are fueling climate change and extreme weather, yet they have failed to act," reads the website. "Instead, major oil and gas companies continue to invest billions into new projects that lock in decades more fossil fuel extraction while our communities take the heat… literally."
Jamie Henn, director of the organization, said on social media that the public "needs to understand that this summer's brutal heatwave was brought to you by Big Oil."
The World Weather Attribution said last month that the heatwaves experienced by people across the U.S. and Europe in July would have been "virtually impossible" without the climate crisis, which scientists have for years said is being fueled by heat-trapping emissions from oil, gas, and coal extraction.
The organization also reported this week that wildfires in eastern Canada in recent weeks were made twice as likely by the climate emergency, which as STOP said, has created "tinderbox conditions" by making droughts longer and more intense.
"From Alaska to Maui, our communities are struggling to survive the rapidly worsening impacts of the climate crisis, all the while, Big Oil is raking in billions at our expense," said Cassidy DiPaola, spokesperson for FFM and STOP. "There's no denying that this summer's brutal heatwaves are being fueled by the same Big Oil companies who are spreading climate disinformation and blocking much needed climate progress."
More than 100 people in the U.S. have died of heat-related causes so far this year, and weather experts have continued to report high temperatures throughout August after July set a world record for the hottest month in recorded history.
Jennifer Falcon, a resident of Austin, told FFM that the climate crisis has emerged as an economic justice issue in her community as Texas broke its all-time record for power consumption last month, with people across the state struggling to stay cool.
"Texans are paying 800% more to cool their homes during the extreme heat that blankets our state," she said. "This means choosing between food on the table or cooling your home to mitigate health impacts from the sweltering heat while Big Oil profits."
As millions of people in the U.S. faced sweltering temperatures this summer—raising the risk of heat-related illness and even severe contact burns—ExxonMobil reported $7.9 billion in profits, its second-highest profit margin for a second quarter in over a decade.
Along with the billboards, STOP unveiled an ad showcasing the Big Oil's link to the climate extremes Americans are increasingly at risk of facing.
"Record heatwaves? You can thank Big Oil for that," said STOP. "Deadly wildfires? Yep, that's Big Oil. Catastrophic storms? Smog-covered cities? You guessed it—Big Oil."
The group is one of several scheduled to lead a March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City on September 17, with the rally being held as the United Nations holds a Climate Ambition Summit.
Aimed at pressuring U.S. President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency, Fossil Free Media said the march is expected to be "the largest climate action since before the pandemic."
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Climate Groups Cheer Khanna-Whitehouse Bill to Tax Big Oil Windfall Profits
"The American public wants to hold Big Oil accountable for its relentless war profiteering while getting some relief from price gouging at the pump," one campaigner approvingly noted.
Feb 14, 2023
In a move welcomed by climate campaigners, a pair of Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday reintroduced a Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax, legislation meant to take on corporate greed and "send relief to the American public."
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) revived the bill, which was first proposed last year as gas prices soared due in large part to Big Oil profiteering amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Under the proposal, oil companies producing or importing more than 300,000 barrels per day would pay a "per-barrel quarterly tax equal to 50% of the difference between the current price of a barrel of oil and the pre-pandemic average price per barrel between 2015 and 2019."
Revenue raised from the tax would be returned to consumers "in the form of a quarterly rebate, which would phase out for single filers who earn more than $75,000 in annual income and joint filers who earn more than $150,000."
Whitehouse and Khanna said that with oil priced at around $90-100 per barrel, the tax would raise approximately $48 billion annually, meaning single tax filers would receive an estimated $255 each year, while joint filers would get $382.
"The American public wants to hold Big Oil accountable for its relentless war profiteering while getting some relief from price gouging at the pump, and Sen. Whitehouse's proposal answers that call," Jamie Henn, a spokesperson for Stop the Oil Profiteering, said in a statement.
\u201cBREAKING: @SenWhitehouse and @RepRoKhanna are reintroducing their Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax in this new Congress! \n\nTime to go after Big Oil's profiteering and clawback some money for struggling families. https://t.co/y3FFFw8pu0\u201d— Jamie Henn (@Jamie Henn) 1676410296
"Families are still struggling with high prices while Big Oil CEOs continue to line their pockets and those of their shareholders with obscene, record-shattering windfall profits," Henn added. "Eighty percent of voters support the idea, it's time for Congress to get it done and pass this bill."
As a statement from the lawmakers' offices noted:
The five largest publicly traded oil companies—ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies—hauled in pre-tax profits totaling $264.3 billion in fiscal year 2022. Exxon alone reported $77.8 billion in profits in 2022, smashing the earnings record of any American or European oil company. Exxon also announced plans to keep oil production flat for the year ahead. Rival oil giant Chevron—flush with $49.7 billion in profits—greenlit $75 billion in stock buybacks in 2023 to benefit its wealthy executives and shareholders on Wall Street.
"Big Oil's obscene profits last year are the spoils of war and cartel pricing. Clawing back Big Oil's windfall and returning it to the American families who paid for it at the pump is good policy that will help deter future price gouging," Whitehouse—who chairs the Senate Budget Committee—said in a statement. "Congress should heed the president's call, ignore the fossil fuel industry's lies, and deliver this needed relief for the American people."
\u201cRoses are red, \ud83c\udf39\nProfiteering is bad. \ud83d\ude45\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\nHolding Big Oil accountable \u26fd\ufe0f\nSure would be rad. \ud83d\ude0e\u201d— Sheldon Whitehouse (@Sheldon Whitehouse) 1676408776
Khanna said that "Big Oil continues to rake in record profits in the midst of an ongoing energy crisis and is using the money to enrich their own shareholders while average Americans are hurting at the pump."
"I'm glad to introduce this legislation with Sen. Whitehouse to hold Big Oil accountable for high gas prices and put that money back in the pockets of Americans," he added.
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Calls for Windfall Tax Grow as ExxonMobil Smashes Big Oil Profit Record With $56 Billion Haul
"Enough is enough," said one advocate. "It's time to fight back against the politicians and Big Oil CEOs who put their billions before the health and safety of our families, our communities, and our climate."
Jan 31, 2023
As ExxonMobil on Tuesday joined other U.S. oil companies in reporting record 2022 earnings amid rising gas prices, consumer and climate advocates renewed calls for a Big Oil windfall profits tax.
Texas-based ExxonMobil posted a $55.7 billion profit last year, breaking not only its own previous company record—$45 billion in 2008—but setting a historic high for the Western oil industry, according to Reuters. The company's profit is a 144% increase from 2021 and, as Fossil Free Media director Jamie Henn noted, "enough money to send every person in the U.S. $178 to help offset the costs of high fossil fuel costs and gas bills."
Marathon Petroleum—the top U.S. refiner—said Tuesday that it raked in $16.4 billion last year while approving a $5 billion stock buyback, and Phillips 66 reported $8.9 billion in adjusted 2022 profit, a 253% increase from 2021.
Tuesday's earnings reports came just days after Chevron announced $35.5 billion 2022 profit, also a company record, and days before Shell, BP, and Total are all expected to follow suit on the strength of profits related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the European energy crisis.
\u201cExxon clearly knows that their profits are obscene and a political liability. That\u2019s why they\u2019re coming out so hard against a windfall profits tax.\u201d— Jamie Henn (@Jamie Henn) 1675175871
Meanwhile, the average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline crept up to over $3.50 on Tuesday, with average prices by state ranging from $3.40 in Nebraska to $4.93 in Hawaii, according to the American Automobile Association.
Last year, "families across Pennsylvania paid $5 a gallon for gas while Exxon made profits that 'smashed earnings records' and Chevron posted 'record earnings," said U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), responding to recent Big Oil profit reports. "This price gouging is simply disgusting, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."
Cassidy DiPaola, spokesperson for Stop the Oil Profiteering, lamented that "while we're getting robbed at the pump, Big Oil's obscene profits are out of control and billionaire fossil fuel CEOs are getting richer and richer."
DiPaola continued:
Big Oil is shattering records precisely because of the pain the public is feeling at the pump. We're paying more for gas and electricity because Big Oil companies are gouging Americans and benefiting from a rigged system that keeps prices high in times of war and crisis. And on top of that, Big Oil CEOs are making massive bonuses and rewarding big Wall Street investors while families are having to decide between filling up their gas tanks or paying for medication and childcare.
"Enough is enough," she added. "It's time to fight back against the politicians and Big Oil CEOs who put their billions before the health and safety of our families, our communities, and our climate. We need to hold them accountable now with solutions like a windfall profits tax, and invest in clean energy solutions that can free us from expensive fossil fuels."
\u201cFossil Free Memo: Big Oil's Obscene Windfall Profits https://t.co/zOXXbzm6yw\u201d— Stop The Oil Profiteering (@Stop The Oil Profiteering) 1675184096
Robert Weissman, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said that "Big Oil has imposed a private tax on the American people—to the tune of more than $90 billion from just two companies alone."
"It's past time for the American people to take that money back," he added. "A windfall profits tax would tax Big Oil on its inflated revenues—due only to the rising global price of oil and having nothing to do with Big Oil's costs or investments—and return the money to American consumers."
\u201cYou can\u2019t make this stuff up\u2026\n\nChevron just posted their 2022 profits and they DOUBLED what they made in 2021.\n\n$36.5 BILLION in profits. \ud83e\udd2f\n\nThese profits are coming right out of your pockets.\n\nIt\u2019s time for a gas price gouging penalty to keep greedy oil companies in check.\u201d— Office of the Governor of California (@Office of the Governor of California) 1674835327
Last March, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a bill to tax excess oil company profits and use the proceeds to pay American households a quarterly refund. That same month, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Ending Corporate Greed Act, which would tax windfall profits of major corporations at a rate of 95%.
While President Joe Biden has threatened to support a windfall profits tax on oil companies if they don't ramp up production, he has not yet done so.
Responding to the increasing calls for taxing excess Big Oil earnings, ExxonMobil chief financial officer Kathryn Mikells told Reuters that windfall profits taxes are "unlawful and bad policy," and would have "the opposite effect of what you are trying to achieve."
\u201cExxon made $6.3 million PER HOUR last year, while our communities paid the price for costly climate disasters the company continues to fuel. #MakePollutersPay\u201d— Mike Meno (@Mike Meno) 1675175357
In a Reuters opinion piece published Tuesday, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, co-president of the Club of Rome and project lead for Earth4All initiative, wrote that "oil and gas companies are perhaps the most flagrant example of our upside-down world."
"Despite being responsible for the majority of the emissions that cause climate change, they continue to make higher and higher profits," she explained. "At the same time, vulnerable people in the lowest-income countries, who have done the least to cause climate change and are most impacted by the extreme weather events caused by a warming world, are getting poorer."
"There is absolutely no reason not to tax windfall profits in all sectors, in particular when they have been made during periods of scarcity and speculation when the rest of the world is worse off," Dixson-Declève added. "Ending tax incentives and subsidies for fossil fuels is simply a no-brainer in a world where climate change is already costing untold financial and human losses every year."
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