Fossil free politics

The climate summit is set to address 'finance flows' to protect us from climate change. But the proposals are developed by the financial industry and full of loopholes. And not only that: big financiers of big polluters, such as BlackRock, Bank of America and Citigroup, will take charge of implementation.

On the road to COP26, corporations are using “net zero” to block effective climate policy and greenwash their image while maintaining business-as-usual. This fact file details the “net zero” conning and COP26 greenwashing of six major corporate players, but they’re not alone.

New research by Fossil Free Politics members CEO, FoEE and FWAE explores 70+ revolving doors cases between six of Europe's big oil and gas companies (BP, Shell, Total, ENI, Equinor, Galp and five of their lobby groups) and the public sector between 2015 (COP21) and 2021 (COP26). These revolving door cases demonstrate just how normalised the fossil fuel industry model, it’s assumptions, power, and culture are.

The European Commission said it wants to avoid giving billions in bailouts to the fossil fuel industry like it did in 2008 - but it’s doing just that: In Italy, France, Portugal and the Spanish State, €8.3 billion of EU recovery funds will be spent on hydrogen and renewable gases, thanks to fierce industry lobbying at national and EU level.

Recently more than 1,500 corporations, including big polluters, have made “net zero” commitments. Are their pledges backed by plans for real action or are they a strategy for evading responsibility and continue business as usual? Find out more in this report by Corporate Accountability International, Global Forest Coalition and Friends of the Earth International, in collaboration with CEO and other groups.

Sixty four civil society organisations from Portugal and across the EU have today demanded action to tackle corporate influence and to promote lobby transparency, accountability, and democratic reform.

Fossil fuel interests have captured tens of billions of COVID-19 public recovery funds. New research by the Fossil Free Politics campaign reveals a massive lobbying effort by the fossil fuel industry to win concessions for climate-damaging energy schemes, to weaken environmental standards across Europe, and to water-down the EU Green Deal.

The European Green Deal (EGD) is a major new plan for the EU that seeks to make its economy 'climate-neutral'. Is the deal really as good as they want us to believe? The fingerprints of industry, and in particular the fossil fuel industry, can be seen all over the EGD. Emissions reductions targets are too modest and too slow, fossil gas is kept as a transitional fuel, and public money will finance industry ‘false solutions’. How did this happen?

Council presidency sponsorship, high-profile events, new fossil fuel investments…. Corporate Europe Observatory turns a quizzical eye on the Croatian Government’s love affair with the fossil fuel industry.

CEO spent a very busy two weeks at COP25 in Madrid in December, working with inspiring allies in the fight for climate justice and exposing the role of corporations in co-opting the UN climate talks and derailing the process.

Some of Spain's biggest polluters are bankrolling COP25 in Madrid. See our new infographic and fact-file for more information.

For decades, fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists have denied science, and have delayed, weakened, and sabotaged climate action. They made billions in profits, while heating the planet and destroying communities. This stops now.