News & Analysis
August 8, 2023
Oil companies are simultaneously claiming to be dedicated to climate solutions while expanding oil and gas production and fighting the transition to clean energy, climate activist and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore argued in a recent TED talk.
“For decades now, the companies have had the evidence [that fossil fuels advance climate change],” Gore said during his recent presentation at a Detroit TED conference. “They know the truth and they consciously decided to lie to publics all around the world in order to calm down the political momentum for doing something about it so they could make more money. It's as simple as that.”
The fossil fuel industry's hold over our political and financial systems blocks ambitious action on the climate crisis at every turn. We can't afford to put their false solutions ahead of a just transition to clean energy. Learn why in my latest @TEDTalks. https://t.co/iYxBjgwcZ1
— Al Gore (@algore) August 7, 2023
Gore emphasized that while oil and gas companies no longer deny the reality of climate change, the industry still makes a considerable effort to block the transition away from fossil fuels, all while claiming that it must be included in the energy transition process.
Fossil fuel majors tout their investments in renewable energy, but have recently walked back those minor investments in favor of more oil and gas. As Gore pointed out, several companies have simultaneously promised to expand their oil and gas production while claiming to be in alignment with the Paris Agreement, which demands a significant reduction in emissions by 2030. Instead of decreasing oil production to manage emissions, the industry has highlighted carbon capture technology as a fix-all solution — despite that CCS technology is not scalable or technologically viable to meaningfully offset emissions.
“The fossil fuel industry has captured this process and is slowing it down,” Gore said, “and we need to do something about it.”
Despite Big Oil’s bad faith actions, oil companies have still been allowed to have a seat at the negotiating table; in 2021, the fossil fuel industry had more lobbyists present at the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties than the largest national delegation. This year, an oil executive was named president of the climate summit.
Gore argues that companies without legitimate commitments to phasing out fossil fuels, investing in renewables, ending anti-climate lobbying, and transparency should be prohibited from engaging in international climate negotiations.
“In order to move faster,” Gore concludes, “we have got to empower the global community in a way that frees them from the hammerlock that the fossil fuel companies have on them today.”
Watch the full TED Talk here.
