The biggest oil companies remain mired in the business of selling fossil fuels, but their marketing is all about going green.
Well over half of Big Oil’s advertisements promote the message that they have embraced clean energy and emissions reductions, and other such “green claims,” according to a, a think tank based in London. Researchers found that BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies spent an estimated $750 million last year to promote a climate-friendly image — and the report calls that “a conservative estimate.
Yet at the same time, the report found that all five companies were on track to increase oil production by 2026. Together, these companies spend only about a tenth of their investments on pursuits they consider “low-carbon.” Shell had the widest gap between its words and actions: While the company touted its carbon-cutting efforts 70 percent of the time, it only put 10 percent of capital expenditures toward low-carbon investments.
To understand what message oil companies were sending to the public, InfluenceMap’s researchers analyzed more than 3,400 social media posts, press releases, blog posts, and other communications from oil companies last year. They found that 60 percent contained environmentally-friendly messages, while only 23 percent promoted oil and gas. The most popular message was about adopting clean energy, followed by publicizing their efforts to reduce emissions.
“It’s really clear,” said Faye Holder, a co-author of the new report. “They are trying to get across the message to people that they’re not an oil company — they are part of the solution on climate change.”
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