A memorandum from the US Congress released on Friday affirms that companies in the oil sector commit to giving an ecological touch to their activities, but internally recognize that their actions will not significantly reduce their emissions and at the same time continue to invest large sums of money in hydrocarbons.
Said Carolyn Maloney, president of the commission, that “The published documents reveal that the industry does not have a concrete plan to clean up its situation and that it plans to pump more dirty fuels in the coming decades.”
On the subject, the House of Representatives launched an investigation, the parliamentarian also added, “These companies know that their climate commitments are inadequate, but they prioritize record profits over the consequences of climate change on humans.”
Among the documents disclosed is an excerpt from a presentation to the board of directors of the Chevron company according to which the withdrawal from the market of certain competitors in the oil and gas sector creates opportunities that the group can take advantage of to “continue investing” in energy traditional.
An internal email from the powerful US oil lobby API shows that its 2021 climate strategy is primarily aimed at “the continued promotion of natural gas.”
The documents also reveal that companies in the sector privately admit that their strategy is to resist and block climate regulations, according to lawmakers on the commission. When some of them divest themselves of their most polluting activities, like oil sands mining, they know that this will not eliminate the emissions from those projects, but simply move them to the balance sheet of another company.
In September 2021, the House committee launched its investigation, accusing the oil companies of having long tried to hide the effects of their activities on the climate and of continuing to oppose new climate regulations.
In recent months, criticism has increased when government officials accused them of taking advantage of the recent rise in energy prices sparked by the war in Ukraine to make huge profits and redistribute them to their shareholders instead of increasing their energy investments. renewable.
On Thursday, ExxonMobil announced an increase in its share purchase program from $30 billion to $50 billion and increased spending on cleaner energy from $15 billion to $17 billion by 2027.
Published by The Tampa Herald, news and information agency.
