Thread by @fossiltreaty

The fossil fuel industry is not going to design its own demise. Instead, they seem to have no problem enabling the production of the biggest driver of our climate crisis.

Why @antonioguterres speech to #UNGA this morning is so important. A thread 🧵

Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon & Shell all reported record profits for 2022, a year in which Russia's war on Ukraine collided with the post-pandemic economic recovery to drive oil prices to their highest levels in history.
cbsnews.com/news/exxon-che…

Together, the four companies saw $1 TRILLION in sales last year. TotalEnergies and BP are still due to report their 2022 financial results next week. These obscene profits of the fossil fuel industry are jarring when set two broader contexts...

First, many are struggling to afford basic heating, cooling and food needs. High energy prices are one of the leading factors driving inflation, and those prices are getting embedded into every facet of daily life, not least at the gas pump
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Second, fossil fuels are the biggest driver of the climate crisis. Coal, oil and gas are responsible for 86% of CO2 emissions in the past decade alone...but the industry would love for us to think otherwise.

The lies run deep + long. Last month new research showed that #ExxonKnew. Their scientists predicted global warming with shocking accuracy yet repeatedly exaggerated climate science uncertainties. Read an important thread from report author @GeoffreySupran

https://twitter.com/GeoffreySupran/status/1613611667254046721

While oil and gas companies (not just Exxon) have a long track record of denying climate change, the industry’s messaging has shifted into high gear and is now operating with a sophistication that we’ve never seen before in ways more effective than outright climate science denial

By downplaying the urgency of the climate crisis, the industry has new tools to delay efforts to curb fossil fuel emissions. This also allows the industry to tout false solutions such as CCS and offsets
theguardian.com/environment/20…

Even the very notion of a personal carbon footprint was first popularized by BP as part of a $100 million per year marketing campaign between 2004 and 2006. It misdirects attention to personal responsibility rather than the industry at large
theguardian.com/environment/20…

Meanwhile, even the @IEA says there must be no new oil and gas fields or coal mines, and global clean energy investment needs to triple by 2030 plus immediate and rapid transition away from fossil fuel production
iea.org/news/world-ene…

With their backs against the wall, the fossil fuel industry is scrambling, sending more lobbyists to the climate summit each year & now planting themselves to dictate these negotiations. Even officials for #COP28 this year feature more & more oil execs theguardian.com/world/2023/feb…

We cannot meet Paris Agreement goals without int'l cooperation to explicitly tackle all fossil fuels (& the industry) head on via mechanisms like #FossilFuelTreaty to apply pressure to include laggards in a common framework or #BOGA to unite progressive countries
#JustTransition