Fossil Fuel Companies: Denying Climate Change, Profiting From Lies

Fossil fuel companies have been aware of the impact of their products on the climate since at least the 1970s. Despite this, they have led the way in climate change denial, opposing regulations to reduce global warming. ExxonMobil, for example, has been the most active in the debate surrounding climate change, using tactics similar to those employed by the tobacco industry to deny the link between smoking and lung cancer.

These companies have funded organisations that dispute the impact of global warming and seek to undermine public opinion about the scientific consensus on climate change. They have also launched media campaigns and lobbying efforts to spread doubt and create a narrative of denial.

Fossil fuel companies have deceived shareholders, politicians, and the public about the risks of global warming. They have fought efforts to move away from fossil fuels and have slowed progress on addressing climate change. Some continue to spread disinformation and obstruct climate policies, despite being aware of the role their products play in climate change.

Fossil fuel companies have known about climate change since at least the 1970s

Fossil fuel companies have known about the impact of their products on climate change since at least the 1970s. In 1977, James Black, a senior scientist at Exxon, reported to the company's executives that there was a general scientific agreement that the burning of fossil fuels was the most likely manner in which mankind was influencing global climate change. Exxon's own research program sampled carbon dioxide and built rigorous climate models. ExxonMobil's private research predicted how burning fossil fuels would warm the planet.

Despite this knowledge, fossil fuel companies have spent decades refusing to publicly acknowledge climate change and have even promoted misinformation. ExxonMobil, in particular, has been a leader in climate change denial, opposing regulations to curtail global warming. The company has funded organizations that sought to undermine public opinion about the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

This strategy of spreading misinformation about climate change has been compared to the tobacco industry's organized denial of the hazards of tobacco smoking. Some of the campaigns are even carried out by the same people who previously spread the tobacco industry's denialist propaganda. Fossil fuel companies have a vested interest in keeping their business going and have, therefore, poured money into denying the reality of climate change.

However, the truth about their knowledge and subsequent denial is slowly coming to light. In 2015, journalists uncovered evidence of ExxonMobil's early knowledge of climate change. In 2025, Harvard researchers published a study that showed that ExxonMobil had accurately predicted global warming in the 1970s but then spent decades denying that science.

They have funded climate change denial campaigns and organisations

Fossil fuel companies have a long history of funding climate change denial campaigns and organisations.

ExxonMobil, for example, has been a leader in climate change denial since the 1980s, opposing regulations to curtail global warming. The company has funded organisations critical of the Kyoto Protocol and sought to undermine public opinion about the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Between 1998 and 2004, ExxonMobil granted $16 million to advocacy organisations that disputed the impact of global warming. The company has also purchased advertorials in prominent newspapers, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, that cast doubt on the science of climate change.

Other fossil fuel companies, such as Chevron, have also been accused of spreading disinformation and deceiving the public about climate change. Leaked documents show that these companies have deliberately misled the public for nearly 30 years. They have used tactics such as counterfeit science, the harassment of scientists, and the manufacture of uncertainty to distort the evidence of climate change.

The fossil fuel industry's lobbying efforts and funding of climate change denial campaigns have been highly effective in preventing meaningful action on climate change. They have influenced lawmakers, sowed doubt among the public, and delayed or blocked climate policies and regulations.

In addition to fossil fuel companies, right-wing organisations and trade groups, such as the Koch family foundations and the American Petroleum Institute, have also played a significant role in funding climate change denial campaigns and organisations. These groups have poured millions of dollars into efforts to discredit climate science and block climate policies.

They have lobbied against emissions regulations

Fossil fuel companies have a long history of lobbying against emissions regulations. They have used their financial resources and influence to sway government policies and public opinion in their favour. Here are some examples and details of how they have lobbied against emissions regulations:

Lobbying Activities and Influence

Fossil fuel companies, often referred to as "Big Oil," have spent significant amounts of money on lobbying and political campaigns. They employ hundreds of lobbyists and have strong connections with political parties, especially Republican politicians in the United States. From 2003 to 2006, the energy lobby contributed $58.3 million to state-level campaigns in the US, dwarfing the contributions of alternative energy interests, which amounted to only about half a million dollars.

In 2022, the fossil fuel industry spent approximately $125 million to influence the US government. They also contributed heavily to Republican politicians, with about two-thirds of their political contributions going to Republican candidates over several decades. This spending gives them considerable clout in Washington, D.C., and other political centres, allowing them to obstruct and delay government action on climate change.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), a powerful industry lobbyist for Big Oil, has significant influence in Washington, D.C. Other large oil companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are also major players in the fossil fuel lobby. These companies often adopt "sustainability principles" that contradict the agenda their lobbyists advocate.

Lobbying Against Emissions Regulations

Fossil fuel companies have actively lobbied against emissions regulations and environmental protection policies. They have sought to maintain favourable policy settings for oil and gas and delay or weaken climate action. For example, they lobbied against reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism in Australia and worked to prevent the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the United States.

They have also exploited international crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, to roll back existing regulations or justify new fossil fuel development. Additionally, they have tried to retain fossil fuel subsidies and block legislation related to global climate change.

Media and Advertising Campaigns

Fossil fuel interest groups have mobilised quickly to oppose new emissions regulations. They often use media and advertising campaigns to spread misinformation and create a false narrative. For example, in response to the EPA's rule limiting tailpipe emissions from new cars, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) portrayed it as a "ban" on new cars and gas vehicles in hyperbolic ad campaigns. They warned that the government would take away people's choices and freedoms.

Funding Climate Change Denial and Misinformation

Fossil fuel companies have funded climate change denial and spread misinformation to create doubt and delay action. ExxonMobil, for instance, funded organisations critical of the Kyoto Protocol and sought to undermine public opinion about the scientific consensus on climate change. They have also purchased advertorials in prominent newspapers, claiming that the science of climate change was unsettled.

Influencing Scientific Research

Fossil fuel companies have influenced scientific research by funding scientists and organisations that deny or cast doubt on climate change. They provide financial support to scientists and think tanks that promote contrarian information and dispute the impact of global warming. This creates the false appearance of a scientific debate, even though the scientific consensus on climate change is strong.

Legal Action and Lawsuits

Fossil fuel companies have also used legal action and lawsuits to delay or block climate-related regulations. They have challenged regulations in court and filed strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) to prevent protests and silence critics.

They have attacked and threatened scientists

Fossil fuel companies have a long history of attacking and threatening scientists who work on climate change. Climate scientists, especially in the United States, have reported government and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data, with directives not to discuss the subject publicly.

One prominent example is ExxonMobil, which has been a leader in climate change denial since the 1980s. The company has funded organisations that sought to undermine public opinion about the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. ExxonMobil has also been accused of harassing scientists and creating a decades-long campaign against climate action.

Another example is the Global Climate Coalition, an industry coalition that funded several scientists who expressed skepticism about global warming. The coalition used aggressive lobbying and public relations tactics to oppose action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight the Kyoto Protocol.

Climate change deniers have also attacked the work of individual scientists, such as Michael E. Mann, who was defamed by bloggers and won a $1 million judgment in a lawsuit in 2024. After Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter in 2022, climate scientists received a large increase in hostile, threatening, harassing, and personally abusive tweets from deniers.

In addition to these direct attacks, fossil fuel companies have also worked to spread disinformation and create doubt about the scientific consensus on climate change. They have funded advocacy organisations and think tanks that spread climate change denial and lobbied politicians and regulators to oppose climate action. This has contributed to low levels of public concern and government inaction worldwide.

They have influenced politicians and political parties

Fossil fuel companies have influenced politicians and political parties by funding them and their campaigns, and by lobbying.

Funding Political Parties and Campaigns

Fossil fuel companies have influenced political parties by funding their campaigns. For example, in 1998, Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and other fossil fuel companies started the Global Climate Coalition (GCC) to oppose reductions in carbon emissions. The GCC was a group of mainly US businesses that used aggressive lobbying and public relations tactics to oppose action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight the Kyoto Protocol. The coalition spent $500,000 on an advertising campaign designed to disparage climate science and cherry-pick data with the aim of confusing the public.

In 1991, a leaked document from a fossil fuel industry front group, the Information Council on the Environment (ICE), revealed the group’s goal to “reposition global warming as theory (not fact)”. The ICE also planned to use a spokesman from the scientific community to spread climate deception, a strategy designed to gain public credibility.

In 2009, a fossil fuel industry front group, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, sent forged letters from NAACP and other nonprofit groups to members of Congress misrepresenting the groups’ positions on a key climate bill.

Lobbying

Fossil fuel companies have also influenced politicians and political parties by lobbying. For example, in 2001, an ExxonMobil lobbyist advised the Bush Administration to replace climate change experts with climate deniers on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate assessment. In 2005, the New York Times reported that Philip Cooney, a former fossil fuel lobbyist and "climate team leader" at the American Petroleum Institute, had "repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming".

In 2015, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) launched an attack campaign against a California clean energy bill, mailing pamphlets of disinformation to California voters.

Funding Climate Change Denial

Fossil fuel companies have also funded climate change denial. For example, ExxonMobil has funded the Competitive Enterprise Institute, George C. Marshall Institute, Heartland Institute, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and the International Policy Network. Between 1998 and 2004, ExxonMobil granted $16 million to advocacy organizations that disputed the impact of global warming. ExxonMobil also purchased regular advertorials in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal that said that the science of climate change was unsettled.

Funding Scientists

Fossil fuel companies have also funded scientists who are climate change deniers. For example, ExxonMobil funded climate contrarian Wei-Hock "Willie" Soon's discredited research claiming that most global warming could be attributed to the sun. Most of Soon's research funding—more than $1.2 million from 2001-2012—came from fossil fuel interests.

Funding Think Tanks

Fossil fuel companies have also funded conservative and libertarian think tanks. For example, the State Policy Network (SPN), an umbrella group of 64 US think tanks, has been lobbying on behalf of major corporations and conservative donors to oppose climate change regulation. Think tanks that have received funding from fossil fuel companies include the Heritage Foundation, Marshall Institute, Cato Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute.

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