Message From the Editor

As pressure mounts on fossil fuel companies to clean up their emissions, they’re turning to new tactics to greenwash their operations.

This week, Nick Cunningham brought us a story about the latest and greatest in greenwashing: Cheniere Energy’s new “carbon emissions tags.” Last year, Cheniere, the largest exporter of liquified natural gas in the United States, announced that it was introducing these tags to help its customers understand the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its cargo.

These tags do not provide the clarity they purport to. Nick’s reporting is based on a new study from Oil Change International and Greenpeace USA that found rampant issues — from underestimating methane emissions to lacking supplier-specific data — with the calculations that go into Cheniere’s CE tags.

Rather than providing meaningful information about the emissions associated with Cheniere’s gas, these tags are simply “a marketing exercise,” Clark Williams-Derry, an energy financial analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told Nick.

Fossil fuel companies are increasingly shifting from outright climate denial to attempts to delay climate action. As they do so, marketing ploys — like naming captured methane “renewable natural gas” or these tags that rely on cherry picked data — are becoming the norm.

Nick’s story provides one window into this world of greenwashing and delay. We hope you dive in and share it with others.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: editor@desmog.com. Our UK team has been charting the fossil fuel ties of potential successors to Boris Johnson. Stay in the loop with our UK newsletter!

Thanks, 
Brendan DeMelle  

Executive Director  

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Image credit: Julie Dermansky

LNG Exporter Downplays Emissions to Justify Expansion

— By Nick Cunningham (5 min. read) —

A major exporter of U.S. liquefied natural gas is “seeking to greenwash” its operations in order to portray gas exports as a climate solution and clear the way for further expansion, according to a new report.

Global demand for gas has soared in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine, sparking a scramble by U.S. gas exporters to increase export volumes, with the backing of the Biden administration. But building out LNG infrastructure to address an energy crisis is at odds with governments simultaneously trying to slash emissions to address the climate emergency.

Reality Is Not What It Seems. And That Might Just Save the Climate.

— By Clara Vondrich (7 min. read) —

As the world gasped in wonder at the first images of our infant universe from the James Webb Space Telescope last month, we were reminded that human beings are still capable of acts that elevate us all and advance our collective potential.

“[When] my grandchildren … look up at a star, point to it and say ‘there’s life!’ — that’s going to be a moment more profound than the Copernican moment that took Earth out of the center of the universe. It’s going to put an end to cosmic loneliness,” said project team member Natalie Batalha, a planet hunter and astronomer at UC Santa Cruz.

Anti-Green Politicians Tipped for Top Roles in Truss Government

— By Phoebe Cooke (4 min. read) —

MPs with a history of casting doubt on climate science and opposing green policies are poised for cabinet positions under Tory leadership favourite Liz Truss, prompting fears over the UK’s climate ambitions.

They include former Margaret Thatcher advisor, John Redwood, who has accused the BBC of “peddling climate alarmism” and Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has downplayed humans’ impact on the climate.

Sanders Says Senate Bill ‘Nowhere Near’ Enough as Dems, GOP Tank His Amendments

— By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams (3 min. read) —

After his amendments to expand Medicare and strip out giveaways to the fossil fuel industry were defeated in near-unanimous votes by Democrats and Republicans, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday supported final passage of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act but said it “goes nowhere near far enough in addressing the problems facing struggling working families.”

Sanders, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, offered amendments that would have removed oil and gas handouts from the reconciliation bill; added dental, hearing, and vision coverage to Medicare; established a Civilian Conservation Corps; strengthened the measure’s drug price provisions; revived the expanded child tax credit; and hiked the corporate tax rate.

‘Blue Hydrogen Cheerleader’: UK Government’s Choice of Hydrogen Champion Draws Criticism

— By Adam Barnett and Phoebe Cooke (3 min. read) —

The UK government has been accused of appointing a “cheerleader for climate-wrecking blue hydrogen” as its hydrogen champion while claiming to support clean energy.

Jane Toogood was named as the new “hydrogen champion” by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng in July and will liaise between industry and government to “accelerate hydrogen production” to help the country reach its net zero goal.

Pierre Marcel Poilievre is a member of the Canadian Parliament representing Carleton riding near Ottawa, Ontario. On February 5, 2022, Poilievre released a video on social media announcing his intention to run for prime minister, effectively entering the leadership race for the Conservative Party. He has been described as a “free-market activist” and has consistently opposed carbon tax legislation. In March 2022, he said he would oppose “anti-energy laws” in Canada: “Right now, we have anti-energy laws in this country that are preventing people from harvesting our resources and bringing them responsibly to market,” he said during a news conference at Brandt Tractor in Regina.

Read his full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.