Houston, we have a problem – and it’s the fossil fuels industry. Between Monday 18 to Friday 22 March, big oil and gas gathered in Houston, Texas for CERAweek. It’s one of the industry’s largest annual conferences.
A polluter’s paradise, over 8,000 delegates from energy, finance, and the technology sectors, rubbed elbows with government officials from across the globe.
So, the Canary caught up with the greenwashing galore and climate-wrecking shenanigans that took place throughout the week.
CERAweek: awash with climate denial and delay
Off to a strong start, on Monday, big oil and gas bosses began with a predictable display of climate dither and delay. Execs were demonstrating how to recycle – using long-debunked climate denial tropes:
“#CeraWeek should highlight a 🌍 vision toward a clean & equitable future, & instead, we get talking points from the '70s.” “We should be skeptical of solutions touted by the industry… they have no interest in halting the climate crisis.” — Jeff Ordower, @350_US
✍️@olliemilman https://t.co/c4XrHQsQZh— 350 dot org (@350) March 20, 2024
According to CEO of the $1.8 trillion Saudi Aramco oil and gas corporation Amin Nasser, it’s time to ditch the fossil fuel pledge countries made at COP28. You know, the already weak and watered down bare minimum commitment to phase them out, eventually – agreed barely four months ago. He told the audience:
We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas, and instead invest in them adequately
But then, who wouldn’t listen to the head of “the world’s most valuable oil company” for advice on the energy transition?
Unfortunately, the organ grinders were. Specifically, attendees trash-talked Biden’s pause on approvals for new liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals, and the US administration appeared ready to roll over.
As Heated reported, the LNG export pause simply applies to new terminals – that is, the US Department of Energy cannot currently rubber-stamp the construction of new facilities. It doesn’t include a freeze on exports from existing facilities.
As a result, this means that the eight existing export terminals can continue to operate. What’s more, the ten the department approved before the pause will still go ahead. Alarmingly, this could potentially double US exports of LNG by 2028.
Nonetheless, this didn’t stop industry talking heads from playing the victim:
Reliable, affordable, abundant energy from #Alaska oil & natural gas is key to US economic growth, says @GovDunleavy at #CERAWeek. But energy permits for projects take longer to get than a college degree. Development on federal lands, permitting reform needed for a better future. pic.twitter.com/KbYG8mQFYG
— American Petroleum Institute (@APIenergy) March 21, 2024
Ah yes, the notoriously hard-to-get-approval-for projects like the Alaska LNG “carbon bomb” pipeline the Biden administration greenlit in May 2023. Or the Willow project it approved in March 2023, which campaigners estimate will produce the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of 70 coal-fired-power plants across its 30 year lifespan.
So US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm reassured the government’s fossil fuel paymasters:
.@SecGranholm said the pause on new LNG approvals would be “long in the rearview mirror” next March.
We look forward to a review that prioritizes people not polluters + results in the rejection of authorizations for every LNG project. #EndFossilFuels https://t.co/Lnrp9dTT62
— Oil Change International (@PriceofOil) March 18, 2024
Cue rare capture of a fossil fuel exec rubbing his hands with glee:
Wael Sawan, CEO @Shell expects #LNG demand to reach 650-700 MT and says there’s a huge amount of latent demand for LNG as prices come down. #USLNG #CERAWeek 2024. pic.twitter.com/kFLt2snvie
— Susan Sakmar (@SusanSakmar) March 18, 2024
Lobbying, PR, and industry greenwashing at CERAweek
Besides trying to weasel out of international climate commitments, fossil fuel companies discussed how to do-away with pesky environment protections-cum-red-tape. In particular, the kind that prevents them from pumping out unfettered pollution. Don’t look now, but #LobbyingGoals2024 incoming:
“What we need here in the US is permitting reform…if permitting reform passes without meaningful 401 reforms it is ineffective for projects,” EVP & COO of Williams, Micheal Dunn at #CERAWeek. pic.twitter.com/pNkxQarHxx
— Liz Bowman (@MsLizBowman) March 19, 2024
Err, so that would be 401 regulations of the US Clean Water Act that enable states or tribes to protect their water resources.
What’s more, what fossil fuel conference would be complete without a smorgasbord of false climate solutions? Here we have Chevron peddling the industry’s favourite pet technology project for the clean energy transition:
Excellent 'Power of Partnerships' session at @Chevron Agora House this afternoon at #CERAWeek.
The technology is here, but the #carboncapture ecosystem requires all key players – from policymakers to emitters and infrastructure developers – to be moving at speed. pic.twitter.com/Awu8s63ySH
— Aniruddha Sharma (@callingdexter) March 19, 2024
And there was plenty more where that came from, like this big polluter vision for “green” energy marital bliss:
Nuclear’s in the #CERAWeek Hydrogen Hub with @Bloom_Energy, @oklo and NEI talking about the opportunity for both small and large reactors to provide heat for clean #hydrogen production—“it’s the perfect marriage!” pic.twitter.com/xLnW4n2gsp
— Nuclear Energy Inst. (@NEI) March 20, 2024
CERAweek also provided the opportune moment to spin some junk PR:
Washington shouldn’t be telling you what to drive. The administration’s tailpipe rule is a de facto ban on the gas-powered cars 99% of Americans drive. #LightsOnENERGY #CERAWeek pic.twitter.com/9FGZXUW8wa
— American Petroleum Institute (@APIenergy) March 20, 2024
Chevron, Exxon Mobil & firms like pipeline operator Williams delivered a stark message here this week — at #CERAWeek — that the lights won’t turn on and data centers won’t run without U.S. liquefied natural gas spread across the globe. https://t.co/h2HT74NOy4
— Liz Bowman (@MsLizBowman) March 21, 2024
Didn’t you know, we environmentalists all want to see a throw-back to the energy dark ages. How on earth could we power our electric grids without burning the decomposed remains of dead things chock-full of climate-wrecking carbon? If only there were some other sustainable, renewable resources we could use to power stuff. Oh wait…
Girl-boss feminism and cutting edge solutions
However, it wasn’t all fossil-fuel-mongering and fake climate solution gloom. The conference offered the cutting edge of technology for saving the planet. Like this AI barista coming to replace the underpaid and overworked low-wage workforce in a coffee shop near you soon.
So, if you fancied your mugshot on a latte, replete with logo for maximum brand loyalty brownie points, you could head to ExxonMobil’s zone in the “Innovation Agora” (ooh):
Taking in tons of great sessions at #CERAWeek, but ngl getting my mugshot printed on a latte at the @exxonmobil house is probably the #1 highlight 😊 pic.twitter.com/wSQg8ktQ4w
— Dan Byers (@DByers21) March 20, 2024
That’s some nifty product placement right there. Though, noted lack of keep-cup lads.
Moreover, who said a fossil fuel conference filled to the rafters with a predominantly white, male, cisheteronormative, Global North execs didn’t have something for everyone?
It’s empowering to witness the increase in female representation @CERAWeek this year, not just from #ABB, but across the board. This surge underscores the importance of fostering #diversity and #inclusion within the energy industry.#CERAWeek pic.twitter.com/umumLknIqL
— ABB Energy Industries (@ABB_Energy) March 21, 2024
In fact, at CERAweek, women in energy got a whole dinner panel dedicated to them:
#CERAWeek attendees celebrated Women's History Month at the annual Women in Energy Dinner featuring a panel with Leanne Todd (@SPGlobal), Kathleen Ash (@exxonmobil), Evelyn Wang (U.S. Department of @Energy) & H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid (@_AfricanUnion). pic.twitter.com/2Uewn4DhgS
— CERAWeek (@CERAWeek) March 21, 2024
What a heart-warming display of corporate girl-boss feminism. Hats off to the fossil fuel industry for showing us that capitalism routinely subordinates women’s rights to the cult of individual financial success. Nothing like a slice of weaponised inclusion served with your Exxon-selfie coffee though, right?
Funny then, that CERAweek’s X account quietly glossed over the part where just 22% of their speakers, and only a third of the attendees were women last year. Unsurprisingly, it’s not exactly looking much better this year. By the Canary’s count, women comprised marginally over 23% of this year’s speakers.
Of course, the sector that sparked the term “man-camps” at worker sites, where women have reported sexual assault and human trafficking, would want you to believe they’re feminist for placing a few women on a panel.
Perhaps there’s a reason there are still so few women in energy – because, reality check – the industry is misogynistic as hell.
Sacrifice zones for profit over people
Despite everything, big oil was bleating into a (granted, extraordinarily well-connected and financed) echo-chamber. Crucially, the good folks on X and beyond weren’t buying into the industry’s bullshit.
Environmental Defense Fund’s Mark Brownstein pulled apart the industry’s weasel words on the energy transition:
The physics of climate change is unforgiving. Yes, there’s a cost to the energy transition. But the cost of inaction is greater. Right now we’re paying both and wasting precious time and money.
— Mark Brownstein (@MarkSBrownstein) March 19, 2024
Meanwhile, frontline communities from Texas and Louisiana also took their fight to the front door. Specifically, they protested outside the conference over the deadly pollution the industry produces, which is killing their communities:
Yesterday, while @SecGranholm was inside #CERAWeek prolonging fossil fuels, community members from Texas & Louisiana held a funeral march to grieve their family, friends & neighbors who have died from health complications linked to industrial pollution. 📸Traverse Productions pic.twitter.com/yu8TmGyGk0
— Earthworks (@Earthworks) March 20, 2024
Frontline communities are done with being treated as sacrifice zones by the fossil fuel industry criminals gathered at #CERAWeek. https://t.co/hwVUUcehls
— Basav Sen #StandwithKashmir (@BasavIPS) March 19, 2024
Every year, Big Oil & Gas CEOs gather at #CERAWeek to present new industry schemes to extend dependence on fossil fuels, at the cost of our communities and planet. Community members in Houston are standing up to industry, taking action to say #EndFossilFuels #StopLNG https://t.co/ZJ6hEcbQlS
— Molly Morabito 🌅 (@morabito_molly) March 19, 2024
So another year, another fossil fuel conference promoting the destruction of the planet. Once again, oil and gas CEOs demonstrated their commitment to sacrificing communities and nature for their killer profits.
They’ll hide behind the low-hanging fruit of climate solutions they offer, while claiming to lead the world’s green energy transition. Ultimately, tepid tinkering to rampant extractive capitalism will not save the Earth. But it will save their bottom-line.
Feature image via Fox 26 Houston/Youtube.
