Message From the Editor

Oil and gas trade group, the American Petroleum Institute (API), has publicly pushed misleading information on climate change as early as 1980, according to newly discovered archival documents. An API policy booklet shows the lobby group not only knew then about the negative impact fossil fuel combustion had on the climate, but actively sought to obscure that fact to the public. “This contradicts the idea that the industry was a good-faith player at that time, and only later turned to disinformation efforts,” researcher Benjamin Franta of Stanford University’s Law School and Department of History, told DeSmog. Nick Cunningham has the details.

And if you haven’t noticed, it seems like nearly every day another hopeful article touts the potential of using hydrogen as a fuel to tackle climate change. What’s known as “green hydrogen” — which relies on renewable power for production — is getting the bulk of that attention. So, from “what is hydrogen energy” to “can we believe all the hype,” DeSmog’s Justin Mikulka takes a critical look at the burgeoning new fuel — and debunks some of the myths surrounding it. Read more.

Finally, as President Joe Biden entered the White House he signed a slew of executive orders on January 20, including rejoining the Paris climate agreement and rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline. The move blocks construction of the 1,200-mile pipeline, and puts an end to a saga that has persisted for more than a decade. In a statement, Madonna Thunder Hawk of the Lakota People’s Law Project said: “We only achieve huge wins like this by speaking out together.” Catch up on all the news here.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: editor@desmogblog.com. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. DeSmog’s public interest journalism exposes misinformation that harms the climate and democracy. Can you pitch in $10 or $20 to support this essential work right now?

Oil Industry’s Public Climate Denial Campaign Dates Back to at Least 1980, Nearly a Decade Earlier Than Previously Thought

— By Nick Cunningham (6 min. read) —

The American Petroleum Institute (API), the leading oil and gas industry trade group, publicly pushed misleading information on climate change as early as 1980 – much earlier than previously thought – according to newly discovered archival documents.

API “was promulgating false and misleading information about climate change in 1980, nearly a decade earlier than previously known,” wrote Benjamin Franta, a JD/PhD candidate at Stanford University’s Law School and Department of History, in a new peer-reviewed paper published this month in Environmental Politics.

Decoding the Hype Behind the Natural Gas Industry’s Hydrogen Push

— By Justin Mikulka (15 min. read) —

It seems like nearly every day another hopeful article touts the potential of using hydrogen as a fuel to tackle climate change. What’s known as “green hydrogen” — which relies on renewable power for production — is getting the bulk of that attention.

In December, ABC News ran an article with the headline “Why green hydrogen is the renewable energy source to watch in 2021.” And as Bloomberg has reported, Airbus is betting big on hydrogen as a fuel for its planes. Meanwhile, South Korea’s SK Global just announced an investment in U.S. hydrogen fuel cell producer Plug Power; in the past year, the company’s stock value has increased ten-fold.

Keystone XL Pipeline Canceled. Here’s What It Means for the Future Fight Against Fossil Fuels

— By Nick Cunningham (6 min. read) —

President Joe Biden, in one of his first actions after entering the White House, signed an executive order Wednesday canceling the permit for the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline. The move blocks construction of the 1,200-mile pipeline, and puts an end to a saga that has persisted for more than a decade.

The cross-border pipeline would have carried 830,000 barrels per day of Canadian tar sands oil to the Gulf of Mexico, where it would be refined and exported, providing a crucial outlet for landlocked oil from Alberta. But the mundane infrastructure project became a symbol of the broader fight against climate change, sparking a sustained campaign against drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure across the continent. 

Two Major Pacific Northwest Fossil Fuel Projects Dealt Massive Setbacks In One Day

— By Nick Cunningham (6 min. read) —

Two enormous fossil fuel projects in the Pacific Northwest suffered devastating setbacks on Tuesday, severely dimming their prospects of ever moving forward.

On President Donald Trump’s last full day in office, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) met with a packed agenda, making key decisions on multiple pipeline projects and other matters affecting electricity markets.

Total Quits Fossil Fuel Lobby Group the American Petroleum Institute Over Climate Change

— By Nick Cunningham (3 min. read) —

French oil giant Total announced on Friday that it would not renew its membership to the American Petroleum Institute (API), a stunning blow to the oil industry’s most powerful business lobby. Total pointed to its differences with API over climate policy as its main motivation.

“We are committed to ensuring, in a transparent manner, that the industry associations of which we are a member adopt positions and messages that are aligned with those of the Group in the fight against climate change,” Patrick Pouyanné, Total’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Will Amy Coney Barrett, Whose Father Was a Shell Attorney for Decades, Recuse from Climate Suit?

— By Karen Savage, The Climate Docket (9 min. read) —

With oral arguments set for next week before the U.S. Supreme Court in a climate liability lawsuit against the country’s largest oil companies, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whose father was a Shell attorney for nearly three decades, has still not said whether she will recuse herself.

“My father worked at Shell Oil Company for many years, and while on the Seventh Circuit, in an abundance of caution, I have recused myself from cases involving those Shell entities with which he was involved,” Barrett wrote in her response to questions submitted by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse as part of her nomination process.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Donald Trump

Donald Trump has officially left the White House after his one-term presidency. America’s 45th president has called climate change a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese, has picked a range of advisors with links to the fossil fuel industry. On June 1, 2017, Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord by 2020 and on November 4, 2019 he served the United Nations with formal notice of the decision, kick-starting the year-long process of withdrawal. On January 20, 2021 President Joe Biden signed an executive order on his first day of his new administration rejoining the Paris agreement. 

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