Five Key Narratives to Watch For at COP28

The annual United Nations climate negotiations are just a week away. Known as COP28 — since it’s the 28th year of the “conference of the parties” to the United Nations climate agreement — it will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai from November 30 through December 12.  COP28 will be especially significant, […]

Report: Oil and Gas Production Set to Escalate Under Landmark U.S. Climate Law 

A new report warns that oil and gas production in the United States is expected to rise under Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and shows how the policy will not be enough for the U.S. to meet its 2030 climate target.   

UK Advertising Watchdog Bans Toyota SUV Ads on Environmental Grounds

The UK advertising watchdog has banned two adverts for Toyota SUVs, ruling that images of cars racing over plains and through rivers condoned a style of off-road driving that “disregarded” the impact on nature.  Climate advocates calling for tighter rules on advertising of heavily polluting products welcomed the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) move — the […]

Nigel Farage’s Reform Party Took £135,000 from Climate Science Deniers and Fossil Fuel Interests

Nigel Farage’s Reform party received £135,000 this year from donors linked to climate science denial and fossil fuels, DeSmog can reveal. Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, is a vocal critic of climate action, and last year called for a referendum on the UK’s net zero policies.  The party has pledged to accelerate oil and […]

Why the Belief That Carbon Capture Technologies Can Work at Gigaton-Scale Is a Gigantic Gamble

A new report shows that fossil fuel production by 2030 is set to exceed the level that would be compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C by more than 110 percent. A second just-released report reveals that to mitigate that growth, the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies would have to reach gigaton scale in less than 10 years, which might not be possible. 

UAE Oil Fields Constantly Flaring Despite 20-Year-Old Commitment To Stop, Analysis Shows

State-owned oil and gas fields across the United Arab Emirates have flared almost constantly despite a long-standing policy to eliminate “routine” flaring in their operations, DeSmog can reveal. New data, produced exclusively for The Guardian and DeSmog, found that a single gas field in the United Arab Emirates run by state oil firm Adnoc flared […]

Everything You Need to Know About Saudi Aramco

There are a lot of major oil companies that tend to fill headlines when talking about climate change – BP, Shell, Chevron – any of the ‘big six’ public oil companies. It’s easy to forget sometimes, amid their multi-billion pound windfall profits, that some of these firms are modest players in comparison to the state-owned […]

McCann to Make New Pitch for Aramco Oil and Gas Advertising Work

Global advertising firm McCann is putting itself forward to continue working for the Saudi fossil fuel giant Aramco, DeSmog understands. The US-based McCann currently works for Aramco across a number of its global agencies, under contracts that are set to expire early next year. According to industry insiders, the American-owned company has taken the decision […]

EU Lawmakers ‘Do Not Speak For Us’ Say Farmers Ahead of Crunch Vote

Every summer, Herbert Dorfmann – one of Italy’s representatives in the European Parliament – joins politicians from across the alpine region to hike with farming groups. The one-day stroll offers a chance for powerful agricultural unions to give their thoughts on key EU farming legislation. In recent years, one topic has been front and centre: […]

More than Half of World’s Largest Companies’ Net Zero Pledges Are False Promises, Study Finds

A new InfluenceMap study of nearly 300 of the top companies from the Forbes 2000 list found that 58 percent  did not match their climate policy influencing actions with their public claims of being committed to the Paris Climate Accord and achieving net zero emissions.