1 year ago
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By John Mone
October 28, 2021
Oil manufacture executives refused to pledge that their companies would not walk wealth to reason efforts that trim emissions.
The CEOs of 4 of the lipid industry's biggest players were peppered with questions by Democrats astir the relation of their companies successful worsening clime alteration and whether they’re truly committed to the cause.
Republicans lone focused connected their value to jobs and the economy.
"For much than 150 years, lipid and state has played a captious relation successful our nine improving quality lives, raising standards of surviving and enabling unprecedented growth," ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said.
"We judge the aboriginal of vigor is little c and we're committed to being a person successful making that aboriginal a reality," Chevron CEO Michael Wirth said.
"We cognize we person a hard roadworthy ahead, but it's besides filled with opportunities," BP CEO David Lawler said.
"We proceed to advocator for dependable c policies that enactment the modulation to renewables and lower-carbon vigor sources," Shell CEO Gretchen Watkins said.
Despite commitments, U.S. crude lipid accumulation is inactive rising — up 3% conscionable successful the past year.
The aforesaid is existent of earthy state accumulation — up 3.5% successful the past year.
The lipid industry's reply to this? The request is there. In fact, they reason accumulation isn't precocious enough. The manufacture insists nary accumulation is not an answer.
American lipid companies each money the American Petroleum Institute, producing ads. President and CEO of the organization, Mike Sommers, insisted helium agrees there's a clime crisis.
"Climate alteration is real," Sommers said. "Industrial enactment contributes to it. And the challenges of ushering successful a little c aboriginal are massive."
But astatine the aforesaid time, the API is lobbying legislature to extremity programs that marque electrical cars much affordable. It besides opposes methane fees.
"You could bash thing here," California Rep. Ro Khanna said during the hearing. "You could archer them to sound it disconnected for the involvement of the planet. You could extremity it. You could extremity that lobbying. Would immoderate of you instrumentality that accidental to look astatine API and accidental halt it? Any of you?"
The lipid manufacture executives swatted distant claims that their companies person intentionally lied oregon deceived the nationalist astir the nexus betwixt greenhouse state emissions and clime alteration — contempt grounds to the contrary.
Evidence, similar a lobbyist for Exxon caught successful a Greenpeace video bragging that Exxon worked with "shadow groups" to undercut clime science. The institution fired him.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN: "Do you deliberation that a institution has a close to lie, for example, astir clime alteration and past usage the archetypal amendment arsenic a camouflage and a shield against litigation?"
DARREN WOODS: "I don't judge companies should prevarication and we bash not bash that."
The lipid manufacture executives who testified each refused to pledge that their companies would not walk wealth to reason efforts that trim emissions. They besides refused to perpetrate to an audit to beryllium that they aren't backing immoderate akin efforts now.
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