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Business as usual for the oil and gas industry means increasing production even as investors are pulling out and bankruptcies are looming. (Photo: tolkien1914/flickr/cc)
A new report from Oil Change International (OCI), Big Oil Reality Check, shines an illuminating spotlight on how little the oil and gas industry is doing to reduce climate pollution and how they are actively working to undermine clean energy.
The urgency to deal with climate change is clear. In the United States, we've seen our west burn- driven by new weather patterns. The latest climate report from the weather scientists of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that we could already reach the devastating impacts of a 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming in the next five years if we continue with business as usual when it comes to fossil fuels.
The oil and gas industry claims that it is taking climate change seriously. But as the biggest source of climate pollution, the new OCI report makes it clear that Big Oil is hiding behind claims that they are changing while continuing to push fossil fuels despite the harm to our health and climate. Right now, business as usual for the oil and gas industry means increasing production even as investors are pulling out and bankruptcies are looming. It means daily pollution of our land, air, water and communities from extraction, refining, and transportation. It means an industry that actively spreads doubt about the urgency of climate change and to lobbies to undermine clean energy alternatives. And it means an industry that takes money from tax payers and leaves the public to deal with the costs of pollution and other burdens on our communities.

We continue to see great strides in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification of transportation. These are job-creating, home grown, affordable solutions that help us reduce climate pollution. We also see the need for job-creating clean energy infrastructure and infrastructure that is resilient in the face of the damage that climate change is already causing through storms, floods, and fires. It is hardly surprising that recent polling in the United States shows that the public wants to move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner forms of energy.
The WMO report makes it clear that climate pollution continues to rise. The world is not yet on track to meet the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, let alone strengthen them as is needed. The new analysis from OCI makes it painfully clear that we need to keep shining a spotlight of truth on the oil and gas industry and hold them and their supporters accountable for the damage to health, workers, communities and our climate that is here with us now.
In this time of COVID-19, we have a chance to reinvigorate our economies moving off fossil fuels and putting more clean energy in place. We must reduce emissions and not be tempted to bail out the fossil fuel industry. We know that to avoid further worsening of climate change, we need to end our dependence on fossil fuels. We cannot trust that the fossil fuel industry can manage its own decline - we need strong action from governments that starts with eliminating handouts on the backs of tax- payers to the oil and gas industry.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A new report from Oil Change International (OCI), Big Oil Reality Check, shines an illuminating spotlight on how little the oil and gas industry is doing to reduce climate pollution and how they are actively working to undermine clean energy.
The urgency to deal with climate change is clear. In the United States, we've seen our west burn- driven by new weather patterns. The latest climate report from the weather scientists of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that we could already reach the devastating impacts of a 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming in the next five years if we continue with business as usual when it comes to fossil fuels.
The oil and gas industry claims that it is taking climate change seriously. But as the biggest source of climate pollution, the new OCI report makes it clear that Big Oil is hiding behind claims that they are changing while continuing to push fossil fuels despite the harm to our health and climate. Right now, business as usual for the oil and gas industry means increasing production even as investors are pulling out and bankruptcies are looming. It means daily pollution of our land, air, water and communities from extraction, refining, and transportation. It means an industry that actively spreads doubt about the urgency of climate change and to lobbies to undermine clean energy alternatives. And it means an industry that takes money from tax payers and leaves the public to deal with the costs of pollution and other burdens on our communities.

We continue to see great strides in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification of transportation. These are job-creating, home grown, affordable solutions that help us reduce climate pollution. We also see the need for job-creating clean energy infrastructure and infrastructure that is resilient in the face of the damage that climate change is already causing through storms, floods, and fires. It is hardly surprising that recent polling in the United States shows that the public wants to move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner forms of energy.
The WMO report makes it clear that climate pollution continues to rise. The world is not yet on track to meet the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, let alone strengthen them as is needed. The new analysis from OCI makes it painfully clear that we need to keep shining a spotlight of truth on the oil and gas industry and hold them and their supporters accountable for the damage to health, workers, communities and our climate that is here with us now.
In this time of COVID-19, we have a chance to reinvigorate our economies moving off fossil fuels and putting more clean energy in place. We must reduce emissions and not be tempted to bail out the fossil fuel industry. We know that to avoid further worsening of climate change, we need to end our dependence on fossil fuels. We cannot trust that the fossil fuel industry can manage its own decline - we need strong action from governments that starts with eliminating handouts on the backs of tax- payers to the oil and gas industry.
A new report from Oil Change International (OCI), Big Oil Reality Check, shines an illuminating spotlight on how little the oil and gas industry is doing to reduce climate pollution and how they are actively working to undermine clean energy.
The urgency to deal with climate change is clear. In the United States, we've seen our west burn- driven by new weather patterns. The latest climate report from the weather scientists of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that we could already reach the devastating impacts of a 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming in the next five years if we continue with business as usual when it comes to fossil fuels.
The oil and gas industry claims that it is taking climate change seriously. But as the biggest source of climate pollution, the new OCI report makes it clear that Big Oil is hiding behind claims that they are changing while continuing to push fossil fuels despite the harm to our health and climate. Right now, business as usual for the oil and gas industry means increasing production even as investors are pulling out and bankruptcies are looming. It means daily pollution of our land, air, water and communities from extraction, refining, and transportation. It means an industry that actively spreads doubt about the urgency of climate change and to lobbies to undermine clean energy alternatives. And it means an industry that takes money from tax payers and leaves the public to deal with the costs of pollution and other burdens on our communities.

We continue to see great strides in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification of transportation. These are job-creating, home grown, affordable solutions that help us reduce climate pollution. We also see the need for job-creating clean energy infrastructure and infrastructure that is resilient in the face of the damage that climate change is already causing through storms, floods, and fires. It is hardly surprising that recent polling in the United States shows that the public wants to move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner forms of energy.
The WMO report makes it clear that climate pollution continues to rise. The world is not yet on track to meet the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, let alone strengthen them as is needed. The new analysis from OCI makes it painfully clear that we need to keep shining a spotlight of truth on the oil and gas industry and hold them and their supporters accountable for the damage to health, workers, communities and our climate that is here with us now.
In this time of COVID-19, we have a chance to reinvigorate our economies moving off fossil fuels and putting more clean energy in place. We must reduce emissions and not be tempted to bail out the fossil fuel industry. We know that to avoid further worsening of climate change, we need to end our dependence on fossil fuels. We cannot trust that the fossil fuel industry can manage its own decline - we need strong action from governments that starts with eliminating handouts on the backs of tax- payers to the oil and gas industry.