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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/16/big-oil-climate-pledges-extreme-heat-fossil-fuel>
"It was probably the Earth’s hottest week in history earlier this month,
following the warmest June on record, and top scientists agree that the planet
will get even hotter unless we phase out fossil fuels.
Yet leading energy companies are intent on pushing the world in the opposite
direction, expanding fossil fuel production and insisting that there is no
alternative. It is evidence that they are motivated not by record warming, but
by record profits, experts say.
“The fossil fuel industry has massively profited from selling a dangerous
product and now innocent people and governments across the globe are paying the
price for their recklessness,” Naomi Oreskes, a history of science professor at
Harvard University who studies the oil industry, said.
Oil majors have, over the past several years, rolled out pledges to decrease
oil and gas production and slash their emissions, citing concerns about the
climate crisis. But more recently, many have walked those plans back.
Amid record-shattering warmth this February, BP scaled back an earlier goal of
lowering its emissions by 35% by 2030, saying it will aim for a 20 to 30% cut
instead. ExxonMobil quietly withdrew funding for a heavily publicized effort to
use algae to create low-carbon fuel. And Shell announced that it would not
increase its investments in renewable energy this year, despite earlier
promises to dramatically slash its emissions.
Climate-fueled extreme weather persisted through spring and summer. But fossil
fuel companies have only doubled down on their oil- and gas-filled business
models. Shell promised to cut oil production by 20% by 2030, but then this year
said it already met that goal by selling off some operations to another oil
company –thereby not reducing emissions in the atmosphere. BP has also expanded
gas drilling. And Exxon’s CEO, Darren Woods, told an industry conference last
month that his company plans to double the amount of oil produced from its US
shale holdings within the next five years."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
