Democratic lawmakers accuse big oil companies of ‘greenwashing’
Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon gas station on July 29, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Exxon and Chevron posted record high earnings during the second quarter of 2022 as energy stocks have faltered in recent months.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
A pair of Democratic lawmakers on Friday accused the largest oil companies in the United States of “greenwashing” their public image and not doing enough to decarbonize fast enough to meet climate change targets.
Carolyn B. Maloney, chair of the U.S. House of Representatives’ main investigative committee, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Ro Khanna, a member of the same committee and the chair of the Oversight Environmental Subcommittee, sent a 31-page letter on Friday to the rest of the members of the committee with the latest findings from their ongoing investigation into the fossil fuel industry.
Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and causes global warming. The Oversight Committee began its investigation into what it calls a “climate disinformation” campaign in Sept. 2021 and held a hearing with top executives from oil and gas giants on Oct. 28 of that year.
The letter is the latest installment in the committee’s bid to demonstrate that oil companies are not trying to reduce their CO2 emissions quickly enough, while obscuring their lack of participation.
“These documents demonstrate how the fossil fuel industry ‘greenwashed’ its public image with promises and actions that oil and gas executives knew would not meaningfully reduce emissions, even as the industry moved aggressively to lock in continued fossil fuel production for decades to come — actions that could doom global efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change,” the letter reads.
These efforts are particularly offensive, Maloney and Khanna said, because of the amount of money the biggest oil companies are making right now.
“The fossil fuel industry’s failure to make meaningful investments in a long-term transition to cleaner energy is particularly outrageous in light of the enormous profits these companies are raking in at the expense of consumers — including nearly $100 billion in combined profits for Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP in just the last two quarters,” the letter reads.
The letter also details ways in which the oil companies have made insufficient efforts to decarbonize their businesses, and points to internal documents that show how the companies are continuing to invest in fossil fuel production and increase output.
“Each of the companies has publicly pledged to reach ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” the letter reads. “However, experts have found that not one of the net zero pledges from BP, Shell, Exxon, or Chevron are aligned with the pace and scope of cuts necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and avert catastrophic climate change.”
The letter also points to documents that show how the industry is pushing natural gas as a long-term climate solution.
“In 2021, natural gas contributed to 34% of U.S. energy-related emissions and 22% of emissions globally,” the letter reads. “Documents obtained by the Committee show fossil fuel companies and lobbying groups seek to publicly position natural gas as a clean source of energy and part of the transition to renewables, even as the industry is privately planning for expanded natural gas production over the long term.”
Burning natural gas results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions than burning coal or other kinds of fossil fuels for the same amount of energy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, but it still releases greenhouse gas emissions. Burning natural gas produces about 117 pounds of carbon dioxide per million British thermal units (a measure of heat). That’s compared with 200 pounds for coal and 160 pounds for fuel oil.
Equally critically, the production of natural gas results in leaks of methane all throughout the production process and methane is a greenhouse gas, too. It’s a different greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but still contributes to global warming.
Oil companies stand firm and deny allegations
The oil companies targeted in this investigation categorically deny the allegations made by the House Committee.
“The Committee’s fourteen month investigation, which included several hours of executive testimony and nearly a half-million pages of documents, failed on all fronts to uncover evidence of a climate disinformation campaign,” Curtis Smith, the media lead for Shell North America, told CNBC. “In fact, the handful of subpoenaed documents the Committee chose to highlight from Shell are evidence of the company’s extensive efforts to set aggressive targets, transform its portfolio and meaningfully participate in the ongoing energy transition.”
Exxon claims the House Committee lawmakers have been disingenuous in their representation of the oil company’s engagement.
“Our CEO has testified under oath on this subject during two all-day Congressional hearings before two separate committees, we’ve been in regular communication with the committee for over a year, and have provided staff with more than one million pages of documents, including board materials and internal communications,” Todd Spitler, corporate media relations senior advisor for Exxon, told CNBC.
“The House Oversight Committee report has sought to misrepresent ExxonMobil’s position on climate science, and its support for effective policy solutions, by recasting well intended, internal policy debates as an attempted company disinformation campaign. If specific members of the committee are so certain they’re right, why did they have to take so many things out of context to prove their point?”
The industry trade group, the American Petroleum Institute, says it is focused on both providing secure sources of energy and addressing climate change at the same time.
“Our industry is focused on continuing to produce affordable, reliable energy while tackling the climate challenge, and any allegations to the contrary are false. The U.S. natural gas and oil industry has contributed to the significant progress the U.S. has made in reducing America’s CO2 emissions to near generational lows with the increased use of natural gas,” Megan Bloomgren, senior vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, told CNBC.
The API also pointed to the industry’s focus on developing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen technologies.
“We are poised to be a leader in the next generation of low carbon technologies, including CCUS and Hydrogen — technologies widely recognized to be critical to meet the world’s emissions reduction targets. API will continue to work with policymakers on both sides of the aisle for policies that support industry innovation and further the progress we’ve made on emissions reductions,” Bloomgren said.
Chevron declined to comment. In June, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden saying that the oil company had produced the highest volume of oil and gas in its 143-year history in 2021. And Wirth pointed out that carbon emissions associated with segments of its oil and gas production was lower than global averages.
“At roughly 15 kg of CO2-equivalent per barrel, Chevron’s Permian Basin carbon intensity is some two-thirds lower than the global industry average. U.S. Gulf of Mexico production has carbon intensity just a fraction of the global industry average,” Wirth wrote. In the letter Wirth also said the oil company was investing $10 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scale carbon capture and hydrogen technologies, and grow its renewable liquid fuels production.
BP did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Environment
Honda’s $99 Prologue EV lease offer is too good to be true, but it’s still a crazy deal right now
A nearly $50,000 electric SUV for just $99 a month? If that sounds too good to be true, it’s because it kind of is. One Honda dealer is promoting a Prologue lease offer for just $99 for 24 months, but you may have a hard time getting your hands on one.
Honda Prologue EV listed for lease at just $99 per month
Honda’s electric SUV is already one of the most popular EVs in the US. In December, it was the third top-selling electric vehicle trailing only the Tesla Model Y and Model 3.
Since the first models hit the streets last March, the Prologue climbed to become the seventh best-selling EV in 2024, beating out Chevy’s new Equinox EV and even the Rivian R1S.
Although Honda, like most, is offering generous discounts to clear inventory, one dealer is taking it to the extreme.
Buena Park Honda in California is promoting a Honda Prologue lease deal for just $99 for 24 months (plus taxes) with a $3,977 down payment. The crazy low offer is for the 2024 Prologue EX FWD with 10,000 miles a year, but there’s a catch.
For one, there’s only one model listed in its inventory, and it’s the Elite trim, listed at $51,850 (MSRP of $59,350 minus the $7,500 federal EV tax credit). You will also need a trade-in vehicle, including a 2014 or newer Honda or competitor brand.
A salesperson from the dealership told online auto research firm CarsDirect that the EX models are out of stock because they are “really hard to get your hands on.”
Also, if you factor in the down payment and $595 acquisition fee, the effective cost is $295 per month. That’s only slightly better than the official $239 for a 24-month lease offer Honda is promoting. With just $1,499 due at signing, the effective rate is $301 per month, or just $6 more.
| 2024 Honda Prologue trim | Starting Price (w/o $1,395 destination fee) |
Starting price after tax credit (w/o $1,395 destination fee) |
Starting price after tax credit (with $1,395 destination fee) |
EPA Range (miles) |
| EX (FWD) | $47,400 | $39,900 | $41,295 | 296 |
| EX (AWD) | $50,400 | $42,900 | $44,295 | 281 |
| Touring (FWD) | $51.700 | $44,200 | $45,595 | 296 |
| Touring (AWD) | $54,700 | $47,200 | $48,595 | 281 |
| Elite (AWD) | $57,900 | $50,400 | $51,795 | 273 |
Although this is offered in California and other CARB emissions states, the Prologue is on sale in different regions for just $209 for 24 months. With $2,699 due at signing, the effective rate is still just $321 per month.
Honda says the Prologue “delivers the same level of quality, reliability, and performance” you expect from the brand.
Based on GM’s Ultium platform, the electric SUV has an EPA-estimated range of up to 296 miles. Although it shares GM’s tech, Honda fine-tuned the Prologue with an added multi-link front and rear suspension to give it a more “sporty” drive.
The Prologue has more interior space, with 111.7 cu ft of passenger volume, than the Honda CR-V (106 cu ft). It also features an 11.3″ touch-screen infotainment system with built-in Google, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto support, something GM has moved away from.
Ready to find deals in your area? Although it may not be $99, these offers are hard to pass up for a nearly $50,000 electric SUV. Check out our link to find deals on the Honda Prologue near you today.
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Europe will give €100 billion in short-term relief to clean manufacturing in order to compete with China, as it unveiled today in its Clean Industrial Deal. The money comes at the same time as the US is actively seeking to harm its manufacturing sector and send clean jobs to China.
The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal is a new plan focused on advancing clean manufacturing and increasing efficiency for energy-intensive industries.
The European Commission advanced the deal today with the hope of easing Europe’s current energy difficulties and making its manufacturing sector more competitive with China’s.
The €100 billion (~$105 billion USD) from the plan will support several initiatives to improve Europe’s manufacturing and clean energy competitiveness, including acceleration of clean energy and electrification, energy efficiency measures, recycling and raw materials access, and education for clean jobs.
The hope is that this money, which will be drawn from several sources including existing funds and from member states, will spark additional private sector investment in the amounts of several additional hundreds of billions of Euros through the next decade.
Europe intends to implement a number of reforms to help act on this plan, including cutting red tape, using its scale as a single market in order to better negotiate for raw materials, and bolstering coordination between EU member states to promote quality green jobs. It says the deal will create 500,000 new jobs in Europe.
Overall, the EU expects the plan to save €130 billion annually on energy costs by 2030, largely by boosting domestic supply of clean energy.
European energy concerns drive this deal
These moves are important right now for Europe, as the bloc has experienced significant energy difficulties in recent years. Europe has long been reliant on supplies of methane gas from Russia, despite decades of urging from environmentalists and others. Russia has exploited this reliance to push Europe into accepting various misdeeds over the years, including stealing Crimea and shooting down a passenger plane, knowing that Europe’s addiction to its oil products leaves it in a compromised position.
All of this came to a head during Russia’s (second current) invasion of Ukraine in 2022, where Europe finally woke up and acted to reduce imports of Russian gas. However, since the bloc had not properly readied itself for this moment by building up its own domestic supply, this led energy prices to skyrocket in the short term, and today they remain higher than they were before the crisis started (though it turns out, cutting off Russian gas wasn’t as apocalyptic as some had thought it would be).
This, along with global inflation experienced by every country due to the COVID epidemic, has fueled popular resentment and social unrest in Europe – even counterintuitively leading some voters (and one EV company CEO) to support anti-climate, pro-Russian extremist parties.
But so does looming Chinese dominance in clean tech
It also comes in the context of a steep rise in Chinese clean-tech exports, particularly in the realm of electric vehicles. China recently became the world’s largest exporter of automobiles, an industry which has long been a cornerstone of Europe’s industrial base.
In response to this, and to increasing sales of Chinese EVs in Europe, the bloc recently implemented import tariffs on Chinese EVs, in an attempt to buy local industry time to transition.
But whether European industry will actually take that time to make the right choices, or whether it will continue to delay EV manufacturing and therefore lose the lead even further, remains a question. This is one of the reasons why there are better solutions than tariffs – like investment, which incidentally, the Clean Industrial Deal announced today provides.
And so, the Clean Industrial Deal is an important moment. It signals an additional commitment by Europe not just to try to compete with China – by actually investing in doing well, instead of just trying to put up barriers and sit on its laurels – but to acknowledge that the future needs to be clean and that the bloc is currently not doing enough to ensure that it is.
The US made a similar deal under President Biden
The United States undertook a similar effort under President Biden via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which dedicated nearly $400 billion in funding for climate and energy-related programs, with a focus on bringing back American manufacturing of advanced products.
The IRA, along with Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), were incredibly effective at bringing more manufacturing investment and green jobs to the US. In total, companies announced $211B of investment and 227K jobs in EV manufacturing alone since the IRA and BIL were passed. And the net effect of the Biden-Harris administration’s clean investments resulted in a savings of $250B and 200k lives per year.
…But republicans are trying to ruin it
…Or at least, those investments would have helped. Unfortunately for America and the world, the current occupier of the White House is convicted felon Donald Trump, who finally received more votes than his opponent on his third attempt (despite committing treason in 2021, for which there is a clear legal remedy).
Mr. Trump campaigned on ending support for US EV manufacturing, and his party has previously passed bills to this effect.
While he has only occupied the White House for a little more than a month now, Mr. Trump has already signaled several attempts to give back the environmental, efficiency and manufacturing gains seen under President Biden.
For example, the Department of Transportation signed a memo to increase your fuel costs by $23 billion, the EPA wants to clean the air by making it more dirty, and, perhaps surprisingly to some, Mr. Trump is working to increase costs of domestic energy production even for the oil industry via unwise tariffs – on top of the illegal funding freezes for EV programs and others. There is even an effort to harm American education, which will also reduce long-term competitiveness of America’s labor market (in contrast to the European plan, which boosts investment in education).
The effect of all this hostility towards manufacturing and energy progress is that companies have canceled billions of dollars in plans to build new manufacturing hubs in the US, seeking greener pastures. These cancellations have disproportionately hit republican districts harder than the rest.
But perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that an ignoramus who has famously sent manufacturing jobs to China in his own businesses is actively seeking to cut education and manufacturing investment here in America. All of this can only result in the US becoming less competitive in manufacturing in the long term – especially in the face of greater commitments from the rest of the globe in leaning up their act.
And Europe sees an opening
But that’s not just us saying this: Europe itself recognizes the US’ backwards move, and sees it as an opening. With the US floundering on manufacturing, Europe knows that it has a chance to gain prominence now that one of its global competitors seems ready to take itself out of the game.
“The fact that the US is now moving away from the green agenda… does not mean that we would do the same. The opposite. It means that we need to step forward,” EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said today, as quoted by DW.
And, after a hotly contested German election this week, the leader of the winning CDU said Europe should “achieve independence” from the United States.
China, too, is ready to take advantage of the US’ missteps. It’s looking to throw its weight around against countries (including those in Europe) who would erect trade barriers to EV growth, and shows no sign of relenting on EV development. And since no serious person thinks the future of the auto industry is anything but electric, or that energy won’t become more renewable as time goes on, those who stall on the way there will only be left in the dust of those who carry on.
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