This week, the American oil lobby launched a media campaign with a budget of eight figures to promote the idea that fossil-fuels are “vital”, for global energy security. Climate experts were alarmed by this.
The website of the new initiative states that “US natural oil and gas play a critical role in providing the world with cleaner energy.”
Climate advocates claim that the campaign coincides with record fossil-fuel extraction in the US and the industry’s attempt to exploit the Gaza war to increase production.
In an interview with CNN this week, API CEO Mike Sommers said that the Lights on Energy Campaign was launched Tuesday by the country’s largest fossil fuel interest group. The campaign will “dismantle” policy threats to the industry.
The US oil production hit a record high for 2023. It was also the hottest year recorded.
Timmons Roberts is a professor of environmental and sociology at Brown University. He said, “We are already going in the wrong direction with fossil fuels.” “They want us to go further.”
Roberts noted that the new advertising campaign is full of the “discourses on climate delay” which the fossil fuel industry uses to derail climate action. This was documented in the 2020 report he coauthored. The video advertisement that was posted Tuesday for example, states “demand for energy has increased and so does the need for American natural gas and oil”. It positions the sector as being essential for continued human flourishing, a type of discourse Roberts, along with his co-authors, call an “appeal for wellbeing”.
Sommers stated in an interview with CNN that clean energy is only able to play a small role at the moment. He said that renewable sources can play a part, but that oil and gas will still be required for many decades.
Roberts explained that he used a second discourse strategy, “change is not possible”, which denies large-scale transformation. He added that this statement could be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as fossil fuel companies continue to invest minimal into carbon-free energy.
Caleb Heeringa is the campaign director for Gas Leaks. The nonprofit is trying to counter the pro-gas message.
He said: “We’re not saying that we can shut off the spigot today.” “But [the oil industry] is trying expand the fossil fuel systems, expand pipelines and expand fracking. This will make our economy and existence more dependent on fossil energy, even though cleaner energy is rapidly advancing.”
Roberts describes this tactic as “fossil-fuel solutionism”, which is the framing of polluting energy sources as climate solutions.
Heeringa also mentions the “reliability” of gas-powered energy, “despite significant gas system failures” during weather emergencies such as 2022’s winter storm Elliott and 2021’s winter storm Uri. The ad blitz also mentions the “reliability of gas-powered power, “despite significant system failures during weather emergencies like 2022’s winter storm Elliott or 2021’s winter storm Uri.
The campaign coincides with industry claims that Israel’s war in Gaza would threaten energy security, by preventing the flow of oil from the region.
Sommers , a CNN reporter, said: “This is a serious issue that should concern every American.”
Patrick Galey is a senior investigator for fossil fuels at Global Witness. He said that it seems to be an attempt to capitalize on a crisis in order to maximize profits. Global Witness has tracked. In 2022, after the Russian invasion, industry also called for domestic extraction.
Galey said that the fossil fuel lobby is not letting this latest crisis, which occurred in the Red Sea because of Israel’s carpet-bombing Gaza, go to waste. “Until countries quickly and justly phase-out fossil fuels, the consumers will continue being prey to despotic petrostates’ whims and the feeding frenzy of the oil and gasoline lobbies when the next crisis strikes.”
API’s Sommers stated in a press release on Wednesday that the US produced more energy than any country. This “cannot be sustained without Washington’s right policies”.
API did not respond directly to questions from The Guardian about the scientific consensus on the need to phase out fossil fuels or the concerns of experts regarding the campaign.