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"The behavior of Donald Trump and the oil and gas industry has added to evidence of possible misconduct," said three U.S. lawmakers.
A trio of senior congressional Democrats on Tuesday admonished fossil fuel executives to comply with a request for "information regarding quid pro quo solicitations" from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who earlier this year promised to gut climate regulations if they donated $1 billion to his Republican presidential campaign.
In May, Trump reportedly told Big Oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida that he would sign executive orders and take other action to boost the fossil fuel industry if they raised nine figures for his campaign. Executives from ExxonMobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, and other corporations reportedly attended the dinner.
A May analysis by the green group Friends of the Earth Action found that the fossil fuel industry would reap an estimated $110 billion windfall from tax breaks alone under Trump's proposed policies—an 11,000% return on Big Oil's billion-dollar investment.
Following the revelation of Trump's quid pro quo offer, House Oversight and Accountability Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote to the head of the American Petroleum Institute—the leading Big Oil lobby—and the CEOs of eight companies seeking answers about whether they accepted what Raskin called "Trump's explicit corrupt bargain."
Nearly four months later, the lawmakers are still awaiting satisfactory answers.
"Not only was your response to our inquiries insufficient; tellingly, none of the responses we have received to date refute the accuracy of the reporting, renewing our concern that Donald Trump is actively seeking to sell out American energy policy to the highest bidder," the trio wrote on Tuesday.
"In the weeks since our initial letters, the behavior of Donald Trump and the oil and gas industry has added to evidence of possible misconduct," the lawmakers continued. "Campaign finance records show that following Trump's quid pro quo solicitation at least one company made a significant contribution in support of Trump's presidential run."
"Specifically, on April 29, 2024, Continental Resources Inc. contributed $1 million to Make America Great Again, Inc.—a super PAC dedicated to Trump's reelection," they added. "Continental's CEO, Harold Hamm, who is also an informal adviser to Trump, has reportedly given $1.6 million to aid Trump's reelection so far this year, and he has raised millions more from independent oil producers operating in Texas and Alaska."
According to a Washington Postarticle published last month, Hamm's top priorities are "opening up more federal lands to drilling, easing the Endangered Species Act, and curbing numerous regulations at the Environmental Protection Agency."
During his first White House term, Trump rolled back regulations protecting the climate, environment, and biodiversity, resulting in increased pollution and premature deaths and fueling catastrophic planetary heating.
In addition to sounding the alarm over Trump's climate-wrecking policies, campaigners have expressed concerns about the GOP nominee's selection of Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate. Like Trump, Vance is a climate denier. He also has strong ties to the fossil fuel industry, his top donor.
Climate campaigners said the "brilliant and disturbing" publication "shows the crucial need for increased awareness of the delaying tactics of fossil fuel companies."
Echoing years of academic, congressional, and journalistic research, a U.K.-based think tank on Thursday released a report detailing how top fossil fuel industry trade groups have "used a playbook of narratives and arguments to systematically oppose, weaken, and delay the transition to renewables and electric vehicles (EVs) since at least 1967."
The new InfluenceMap analysis focuses on the American Petroleum Institute (API), FuelsEurope, and Fuels Industry U.K.—whose spokespeople responded to the report by insisting to SustainableViews that the oil and gas industry is playing an "essential" role in the transition and it is necessary to harness "vast energy resources, from oil and natural gas to renewables."
Meanwhile, InfluenceMap's report calls out the organizations for their use of three narratives over the past five decades that "has likely contributed to delaying the energy transition and continues to pose a serious threat to policy progress on climate change."
"Between 1950 and 2022, the members of these associations have a combined contribution of approximately 350 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 18% of the world's total cumulative CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry," the report notes.
InfluenceMap traced the narratives "across 51 separate instances of the associations' advocacy against fossil fuel alternatives between 1967 and 2023," the publication explains. "These narratives include 'Solution Skepticism,' which has been in use for 56 years, 'Policy Neutrality' for 34 years, and 'Affordability and Energy Security' for 51 years."
The group defined the narratives as follows:
"Despite advancements in understanding the threats posed by the climate crisis, these narratives persist as of 2023," the report says. It also emphasizes that the narratives contradict science-based policy recommendations from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Association (IEA).
Some examples identified by InfluenceMap include API comments on the Clean Air Act and amendments in 1967, 1970, and 1989 as well as the association's remarks on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and pollution standards for heavy-duty vehicles last year. The publication also points to FuelsEurope's 2021 comments on European Union Performance Standards and the group's participation in a 2022 letter about the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
InfluenceMap produced graphics to display its findings, including one that shows key members of each association as of March. Members of all three include BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Phillips 66.
"Some of the world's largest oil and gas companies are still paying a high premium to participate in industry associations that may no longer represent them on climate policy," the report states, pointing to how associations' actions contrast with public positions taken by some major fossil fuel corporations. "Meanwhile, Shell, Chevron, and Exxon have disclosed that they pay between $5 million and $12.5 million per year to hold a membership with the API."
The think tank also made a pair of graphics showing how the trade associations' documented use of the three narratives aligns with fossil fuel and renewables consumption, association members' cumulative emissions, and the number of EVs compared with the total number of registered passenger vehicles since the 1950s.
"This report shows that even faced with mounting scientific evidence over decades, the oil and gas industry have pushed ahead with a damaging messaging strategy they developed as early as the 1960s," said Tessa Khan, founder and executive director of Uplift, which supports a rapid and fair transition away from fossil fuel production in the U.K.
"It shows the crucial need for increased awareness of the delaying tactics of fossil fuel companies from policymakers if they are to successfully drive the energy transition forward at the pace we need," Khan added.
Calling the report "brilliant and disturbing," the U.K.-based Fossil Free Parliament said that "this is exactly why we need to remove the industry's seat at the table in Westminster."
In the United States, Democratic federal lawmakers recently concluded a probe into BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, API, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for decades of spreading climate disinformation, after which they urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate all six.
"Emboldened by impunity, Mr. Trump and Big Oil are flaunting their indifference to U.S. citizens' economic well-being for all to see, conferring on how to trade campaign cash for policy changes."
In the wake of Donald Trump attending a Big Oil-hosted fundraiser in Texas, two Democratic Senate chairs on Thursday initiated an investigation into the recent quid pro quo offer to fossil fuel industry executives by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
After The Washington Postreported that during an April event, Trump pledged to gut climate policies implemented under Democratic President Joe Biden if the fossil fuel industry raised $1 billion for his 2024 presidential campaign, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) launched a probe last week, sending letters to the leaders of a trade group and companies whose executives appear to have attended that Mar-a-Lago gathering.
Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) followed suit on Thursday, sending letters to the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the same eight companies: Cheniere Energy, Chesapeake Energy, Chevron, Continental Resources, EQT Corporation, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Venture Global LNG.
"Such an obvious policies-for-money transaction reeks of cronyism and corruption," Whitehouse and Wyden wrote. "This solicitation, coupled with troubling reports that fossil fuel interests and other companies have been drafting language for use in executive orders favorable to their businesses during a possible second Trump administration, demand immediate additional inquiry."
"Such an obvious policies-for-money transaction reeks of cronyism and corruption."
"According to reports, Mr. Trump made specific policy commitments, including promises to auction off more oil and gas leases on federal lands and in federal waters, reverse pollution standards for new cars, and end drilling restrictions in the Alaskan Arctic," they detailed. "He also vowed to terminate the pause on new permits for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, allegedly pledging to do so 'on the first day.' Notably, Mr. Trump called the proposed arrangement a 'deal' for the executives given the tax and regulatory benefits that he would deliver for Big Oil companies and executives."
As Common Dreamsreported last week, one analysis found that if the industry executives took Trump up on his $1 billion offer—that has been undercovered by cable news—there would be a major return on investment for the companies, which would enjoy an estimated $110 billion from the tax breaks alone.
"Mr. Trump's blatant quid pro quo offer is particularly concerning in light of concurrent reporting by Politico that the oil and gas industry is drafting 'ready-to-sign' executive orders," Whitehouse and Wyden noted. "The fossil fuel industry's active attempts to write policy for its preferred presidential candidate are simply the latest installment in Big Oil's decadeslong pattern and practice of lobbying for anti-climate policies even while trying to greenwash its public image."
The pair of senators pointed to documents released last month by Raskin and Whitehouse's panels as part of a three-year probe that on Wednesday culminated in them urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the fossil fuel industry for decades of spreading disinformation about their products and the climate emergency.
Speaking with The New Republic's Greg Sargent about Trump's reported comments to Big Oil executives, Whitehouse said last week that "this is practically an invitation to ask more questions," and a "natural extension of the investigation already underway."
As the senators highlighted Thursday: "Of particular relevance here, documents released in the joint investigation detail the industry's outsized influence on energy policy during Mr. Trump's first administration... In turn, the Trump administration appeared to rely on the oil and gas industry to support and defend its anti-climate energy agenda."
"Time and time again, both Mr. Trump and the U.S. oil and gas industry have proved they are willing to sell out Americans to pad their own pockets," they continued. "And now, emboldened by impunity, Mr. Trump and Big Oil are flaunting their indifference to U.S. citizens' economic well-being for all to see, conferring on how to trade campaign cash for policy changes. Such potential abuses must be scrutinized."
Whitehouse and Wyden are demanding answers and documents from API and the executives by June 6. Raskin, in his letters, called for responses and records by next Monday.