Congressional Hearing Investigates Fossil Fuel Industry Disinformation

The Congressional Committee on Oversight and Reform has launched an investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s decades-long campaign to mislead the American people about the industry’s role in climate change.

“The committee’s investigation has shown that, rather than outright deny global warming, the fossil fuel industry has ‘greenwashed’ its record through deceptive advertising and climate pledges—without meaningfully reducing emissions,” Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote in a memo released hours before today’s hearing, which major Big Oil PR firms have refused to attend.

Fueling the Climate Crisis: Examining Big Oil’s Prices, Profits, and Pledges

As part of its yearlong probe into the industry’s public relations tactics, the panel uncovered documents confirming that oil and gas giants are “devoted to a long-term fossil fuel future,” despite their splashy vows to transform their businesses to meet critical climate goals.

The committee, which subpoenaed oil and gas firms for internal documents related to their marketing campaigns, said in a summary that “Big Oil relies on accounting gimmicks, tricky language, and delay tactics to claim the mantle of climate leadership while continuing to be a primary cause of an ongoing climate catastrophe.”