{"id":326385,"date":"2024-05-05T09:38:37","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T07:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=326385"},"modified":"2024-05-05T09:38:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T07:38:40","slug":"climate-obsessed-democrats-demand-an-oil-exploration-halt-in-the-middle-of-a-gasoline-price-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=326385","title":{"rendered":"Climate Obsessed Democrats Demand an Oil Exploration Halt in the Middle of a Gasoline Price Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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UNITED STATES – JANUARY 31: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., speaks during the news conference to oppose the chained Consumer Price Index to cut benefits for Social Security and disabled veterans on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. (Photo By Bill Clark\/CQ Roll Call)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by Eric Worrall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who needs Gasoline?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Big oil privately acknowledged efforts to downplay climate crisis, joint committee investigation finds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internal documents revealed by committee show companies lobbied against climate laws they publicly claimed to support<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dharna Noor<\/a> Tue 30 Apr 2024 23.00 AEST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big oil has privately acknowledged its efforts to downplay the dangers of burning fossil fuels, US Democrats have found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major fossil-fuel firms have also pledged support for international climate efforts, but internally admit these efforts are incompatible with their own climate plans. And they have lobbied against climate laws and regulations they have publicly claimed to support, documents newly revealed by the committee show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tranche of subpoenaed communications were unveiled on Tuesday morning by Democrats on the House oversight committee before a Wednesday hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor decades, the fossil-fuel industry has known about the economic and climate harms of its products but has deceived the American public to keep collecting more than $600bn each year in subsidies while raking in record-breaking profits,\u201d said Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, who chairs the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2019 memo<\/a> to the CEO, for instance, an Exxon official suggested removing reference to the Paris accord from a document because referencing it \u201ccould create a potential commitment to advocate on the Paris agreement goals\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in February 2020, BP announced plans<\/a> to become a net zero emissions company by 2050 or sooner and to \u201chelp the world get to net zero\u201d. Private emails sent months before, however, indicate that company top brass may have doubted that goal was achievable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/apr\/30\/big-oil-climate-crisis-us-senate-report<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The demand for a halt to oil and gas exploration is contained in Senator Sheldon Whitehouse\u2019s committee report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026 Perhaps most telling, despite its previous statements supportive of the Paris Agreement, BP\u2019s CEO announced earlier this year that the company would increase oil and gas production from 2024 through 2027, citing increased global demand for energy.94 The increase in production is inconsistent with the Paris Agreement. Scientists are clear that to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, new and expanded oil and gas exploration must stop immediately.<\/strong> 95 MSCI found in its \u201cImplied Temperature Rise\u201d ratings that, if BP\u2019s business plan was extrapolated to the global economy, the world would warm 3.1\u00b0C\u2014similar to Exxon\u2019s and Chevron\u2019s ratings and well above Paris Agreement targets.96 The documents, actions, and analyses suggest that BP\u2019s stated commitment to the Paris Agreement is not credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like its peer companies, Shell also first expressed support for the Paris Agreement in 2015 and now claims that it \u201csupports the more ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit the rise in global average temperature this century to 1.5\u00b0 Celsius. \u201d97 However, MSCI still estimates that, if extrapolated across the economy, Shell\u2019s activities would be consistent with 2.3\u00b0C of warming.98 In 2021, Shell promised to undertake a gradual decline of about 1\u20132 % a year in total oil production through 2030, including divestments.<\/strong>99 Then, last summer, Shell announced plans to boost fossil fuel production. 100 It now states that oil and gas production will remain stable until 2030 and that it will invest $40 billion in fossil fuel production between 2023 and 2035.101 Shell\u2019s current oil and gas expansion plans are inconsistent with the Paris Agreement. Despite originally pledging to reach net zero by 2050 for its total emissions consistent with the Paris Agreement, Shell now concedes that the \u201c2050 target is \u2018currently outside our planning period.\u2019\u201d102Read more: https:\/\/www.budget.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/fossil_fuel_report1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Senator Whitehouse does make some valid points. I\u2019m pretty disappointed by the behaviour of some oil companies<\/strong>, their weak mismanagement of this political confrontation with Democrats is doing nobody any good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitehouse claims that Shell promised a 1-2% \/ annum drawdown in total oil production. I checked Senator Whitehouse\u2019s reference to this promise<\/a>, while this isn\u2019t exactly what Shell said, I believe Senator Whitehouse\u2019s interpretation of Shell\u2019s public commitment is a reasonable interpretation, and I accept Senator Whitehouse\u2019s criticism that some oil companies do not appear to have lived up to some of their public commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Senator Whitehouse\u2019s claim that oil companies concealed their knowledge that climate change would have a catastrophic impact also does not stand up to scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Senator Whitehouse\u2019s report rehashes tired claims about ancient internal memos, but the memos I have read in my opinion are not what Senator Whitehouse claims they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read one for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n