News & Analysis
June 2, 2023
Over the past 30 years, Big Oil has spent $3.6 billion on ads that lie to the public – and a new study helps explain why.
Watching just two 30 second TV ads that exaggerate ExxonMobil and BP’s renewable energy commitments can mislead viewers to believe the polluters are genuinely advancing climate solutions, according to a new study — even as the companies continue to fuel the climate crisis.
“If greenwashing ads are indeed capable of convincing people that oil majors are engaging in sustainable business practices—despite objective evidence to the contrary—this might contribute to diminishing pressure to regulate their activities, allowing them to continue pursuing their environmentally destructive business model,” according to the study in Environmental Communication.
This first-of-a-kind study gives more context to why polluters spend big on greenwashing advertisements. ExxonMobil spent nearly $100 million on advertising in the past year, as well as millions in recent years to promote its miniscule investments in algae biofuels research. The proposed climate solution was never truly viable, but advertising the concept allowed Exxon to claim it was doing the work to move away from oil and gas, even as it wasn’t.
Notably, the study also indicated that participants who, after watching greenwashing ads, were given accurate information about Big Oil’s investments — like how oil giants invest an average 4 percent in renewables and 96 percent in fossil fuels — were less swayed by the misinformation.
Big Oil companies have lied about their central role in the climate crisis for decades, and now those lies are the subject of a growing number of lawsuits across the country. If successful, the states and municipalities bringing these cases could finally force polluters like Exxon and BP to stop misleading consumers.
Strengthening the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to crack down on greenwashing could also go a long way to improve the public's accurate understanding of the role oil companies are currently playing in the ongoing climate crisis. Last month, the Center for Climate Integrity provided suggestions to the FTC on how to hold corporate advertisers accountable.
This study provides a valuable window into why Big Oil spends so much on their greenwashing: because it gives them social license to operate their destructive business as usual. That's why it's so important that we hold them accountable.
