Ellen covers how the energy industry uses PR, advertising, and lobbying to delay a just transition. She has exposed lobbying against fossil fuel advertising bans, and oil and gas-funded education programmes in communities facing the costs of extraction. Her reporting has featured in The Guardian, The Ecologist, and E24. Ellen was the Chartered Institute of Journalists’ Young Environmental Reporter of the Year in 2026, and a SEAL Environmental Journalist of the Year in 2024. She is based in Scotland. Contact her at elle [at] desmog.com or read more of her work here.
Concerns over the ‘Powering Progress’ campaign reflect wider scrutiny of the role of creative agencies in climate delay.
The French communications giant had previously staked its brand on its climate-friendly credentials.
Wins in the category for agencies owned by WPP, Publicis Groupe, and Edelman didn't factor in the work these agencies do for the fossil fuel industry.
Antonio Guterres warns creative agencies that fossil fuels are "toxic for your brand.”
Campaigners likened the fossil fuel company’s patronage of climate events to letting an “arsonist sponsor a fire safety conference”.
BP sees sponsored content as a crucial tool to reach “Washington, DC, elites,” according to subpoenaed memos.
Despite calls to stop representing polluters, Edelman will continue to promote one of the world’s biggest producers of oil and gas.
Alex Sobel says he had been unaware the Norwegian oil company was involved.
Campaigners charge that the ads are misleading the public about the proposed project’s likely climate harms.
Their ad campaigns for International Women’s Day champion empowerment even as climate change makes women’s lives harder and more dangerous.
