When the world is attracted more towards cleaner forms of energy, what options are available to the conventional fossil fuel Industry to survive the competition?
While the world continues to fuel its economic prosperity using these dirty fuels, while the cleaner energy does not develop a spine to replace energy needs and evade a crisis, while the residents of planet Earth continue to depend on these cheaper sources of energy with no easily accessible energy source, Fossil fuel industry continue to spend millions in order to provide favorable advertising.
With a few recent climate reports and the consensus of Climate scientists, it is evident that climate change, at the pace that is adaptable for almost none, is happening through human interventions only.
This has long been denied by Fossil fuel industry and therefore, the climate action got delayed. Even the cognizance of deteriorating planet health came back in just 1970s while we could only recently accept that it’s us, who kill.
This is against the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) narrative which has warned that if one wants to stay below 1.5°C of global warming, no new fossil fuel development prospects can be drawn in.
As per IPCC, nearly 89% of total global CO2 emissions came from fossil fuels industry alone in 2018.
What is woke washing and how it is a threat?
It is a deceptive narrative in which fossil fuel firms continue to establish in minds that a strict climate policy will be socially, economically and politically unattainable and riddled with grave problems.
They claim that when the energy transition will happen, it will mostly hit the miserable populations depending on it.
“Often you do see those arguments come from right of center politicians that climate change is a liberal hoax, which suggests hypocrisy in a way because they’re not so interested in the social dimension on parallel issues of social justice like education policy or financial policy”, a Climate expert explains in his paper.
One cannot disregard or negate these completely but anyways poor and marginalized will suffer due to climate disasters, pollution, migration and the mother of all evils: Climate change.
Regardless, the poor crowding in slums, continue to breathe the worst quality air, participate in dangerous economic activities to sustain and even get unhealthy water to drink.
The ‘green’ advertising used frequently by these companies which are most responsible for fast-paced advent of climate change and environmental damage, helps misinform the public about Company’s sustainability.
An Environmental sociologist explains: “If you just focus on climate denial, then all of this other stuff is missed.”
The entire world inclusive of poor and rich, in the last two years, has suffered and even paid in lives, under the public health emergency created due to a minor virus prevailing in the environment that has been consistently disturbed by Humans.
By acknowledging the causes, one can work and lessen the impacts if done in time.
A peer-reviewed study done in 2019 found that major oil and gas firms’ advertising undertaken in last 3 decades, were not towards climate emergency denial, surely not towards its own products, but directed to a pro-fossil fuel propaganda.
This publicity persistently reminded people of all the great things oil companies do abridging the societal divide, how fossil fuels serve our energy needs, and how important their existence is to the society.
Often, with great intellects, the big oil and gas conglomerates will claim their interests to be inclined towards the marginalized communities but they quite exploit the human sensitivity just to drive the myth.
For instance, when Shell featured an Ad with an extraordinary career opportunity being given to India’s first female truck driver because of the oil and gas firm, it can touch even the most callous hearts.
They have understood Feminism is a raging vehicle and using emotive language that is a psychologically appealing to many can most profoundly help sell a product.
Four acknowledged ways to delay the Climate Science based narrative are:
- Redirect the responsibility- divert consumers’ minds that it’s their choice, lessening their own carbon footprint can help save the world
- Suggest non-transformative solutions- making one believe that disruptive measures will bring chaos
- Emphasize the downside of action- disadvantages of leaving fossils.
- Surrender -The time is lost for complete restoration of Nature i.e., climate change is inevitable.
How do we know Fossil fuel Industry still is the offender?
Despite attempts to lessen emissions and a mass inclination made to the renewable energy and efficiency, these traditional offenders still remain huge polluters.
Let’s take an example of BP. It paid millions of dollars on advertising campaign of its low-carbon energy and cleaner natural gas but in actuality, more than 96% of BP’s annual investment and expenditure is done on oil and gas.
Despite being one of the main polluters, the US denied for long to compromise with its standards by lessening its fossil fuel production and supply.
The policymakers have been therefore adherent on fossils and barely cared of Climate Action by now. We know that President Trump even prepared an exit from the Paris Agreement.
A Geophysicist explains: “We lost decades of opportunity. We could have prevented much of the damage that we are now seeing play out.”
And consequently, we have landed in a climate emergency, that fossil fuel industry has helped create in long run.