POLLUTERS EXPOSED
Oil executives are spending millions of dollars every year to influence Americans and policymakers with the goal of putting their profits and pay above all else. They are standing in the way of real climate action, shortchanging taxpayers, and jeopardizing the safety and security of future generations.
The group behind these efforts is the American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade organization and powerful lobbyist for over 600 member companies in the oil and gas industry. API has pushed for gutting pollution safeguards and environmental rollbacks through misinformation and outright lies.
It’s time to end oil and gas CEOs’ influence and expose their attempts to stand in the way of addressing climate change.
The Truth About Oil and Gas CEOs
Fueled by corporate greed.
The numbers don’t lie—the profits oil and gas companies are selling out our safety to go straight to the top. CEOs of Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and several other top companies each took home 8-figure salaries in 2019.
Taking massive bailouts from taxpayers.
Oil and gas is a dying industry that has been propped up with taxpayer dollars for years, support which only increased during the Trump administration.
Destroying natural habitats.
API lobbied aggressively to open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a critical habitat for polar bears, to drilling. The industry ended up backing away—only because it didn’t help their bottom line.
Supporting rollbacks on methane regulations.
API now says it supports regulations of methane pollution, but industry groups supported the Trump administration’s efforts to rollback regulations.
Stockpiling public lands leases for future use.
Oil companies have complained about a pause on new public lands leases and have argued that it hurts local schools. But they’re already sitting on a massive stockpile of ready-to-use leases, and just last year API supported a plan to slash royalty rates that help school budgets.
Hindering climate action while pretending to support it.
API understands the reality of climate change, and their advertisements would have you believe they’re making it a priority. But money is their only real priority—and they oppose Biden’s plans to treat climate change as an “existential threat.”
About the American Petroleum Institute
- The American Petroleum Institute (API) is an association of over 600 oil and gas companies that pay hefty dues to API.
- API spends an average of $7.5 million every year on federal lobbying, and hundreds of thousands on campaign contributions each election cycle to have legislators on their side, not the people’s.
- API makes massive advertising purchases to spread disinformation directly to the public, even directly targeting the younger generations who are most affected by climate change—whether it’s telling young voters gas is climate-friendly or telling families that nearby public schools will suffer if oil and gas drilling isn’t permitted.
- API’s members have racked up $38 billion in penalties for environmental violations but took $1.2 billion in taxpayer-backed bailouts in 2020.
- API is led by Chairman Greg Garland, a Trump ally and longtime oil executive, and President Mike Sommers, whose career was built on fighting for big business interests in DC, and who rakes in as much as $6 million per year.
GET UPDATES
Add your name to get the latest updates from Accountable.US and Climate Power Education Fund.
