How Exxon chases billions in US subsidies for a ‘climate solution’ that helps it drill more oil

Climate experts raise red flags as oil giant spends millions lobbying while touting ‘underperforming’ carbon capture

Andy Rowell and Nina Lakhani
Thu 29 Aug 2024 06.00 EDT

When the oil giant ExxonMobil sponsored an event at the re-energizing Democratic national convention (DNC) in Chicago last week, it was disrupted by climate activists outraged that big oil was invited on to an influential political platform. “Exxon lies, people die,” protesters shouted before being evicted.

The event included a “fireside chat” with Vijay Swarup, the company’s senior climate strategy and technology director. Swarup is a 30-year Exxon veteran who headed the company’s research and development team for just under a decade, and oversaw initiatives on biofuels, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen.

[...]

ExxonMobil declined to comment when asked questions by the Guardian for this article. In response to criticisms, Exxon previously said it had always maintained that “climate change is real, and we have an entire business dedicated to reducing emissions”.

Peeling back the green facade, a different narrative appears, the company’s critics say. An analysis of Exxon documents, investor presentations and congressional committees reveals how the corporation redirected the climate policy response away from solutions such as wind and solar and towards unproven technologies like CCS. One of the wealthiest companies on the planet is now set to pocket vast amounts of public money for a technology many scientists believe is the wrong solution to the climate crisis.

[...]

Andy Rowell is a UK-based investigative reporter and contributing editor to Oil Change International including its report Funding Failure published on 29 August 2024.