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Big oil uncovered

Reporting on the efforts to hold the fossil fuel industry, and its enablers, accountable for the climate crisis, and investigating attempts to disrupt the transition to clean power. Read earlier reporting in the Climate crimes series

20 December 2024

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  • A pool of oil surrounded by dry vegetation

    Oil and gas firms operating in Colorado falsified environmental impact reports

    State’s energy and carbon management commission said fraudulent pollution data was reported for at least 344 wells

11 December 2024

  • an industrial facility with trees and a body of water in the foreground

    ‘I have to live in a cocoon’: locals in Pennsylvania feel ‘sacrificed’ for Shell plastics plant

    Residents accuse the oil firm of overstating the benefits of its Pennsylvania ethane plant – and playing down the harms

12 November 2024

  • smoke coming out of a factory

    Big oil firms knew of dire effects of fossil fuels as early as 1950s, memos show

    Newly unearthed documents contain warning from head of Air Pollution Foundation, founded in 1953 by oil interests

20 October 2024

  • a student walks on a university campus

    University of Toronto’s environment school cuts financial ties to fossil fuels

    Princeton University, the only other North American school to take similar action, rolled back its commitment recently

17 October 2024

  • An aerial view of an oil refinery

    New York officials call for big oil to be prosecuted for fueling climate disasters

    Oil majors’ conduct can constitute reckless endangerment due to fossil fuels’ effect on global heating, advocates claim

8 October 2024

  • The exterior of the NW Natural utility company, with a grey emblem saying 'NW Natural Sunset Service Center'

    Oregon county sues major gas provider for allegedly sowing climate doubt

    Complaint against NW Natural, the state’s biggest provider, marks first time a utility faces climate deception charges

4 October 2024

  • a boat with containers on it

    Exported gas produces far worse emissions than coal, major study finds

    Research challenges idea that sending liquefied natural gas around the world is cleaner alternative to burning coal

1 October 2024

  • Donald Trump in Valdosta, Georgia, on 30 September.

    Trump continues to deny climate crisis as he visits hurricane-ravaged Georgia

    Ex-president refers to climate crisis as ‘one of the great scams’ and plans to attend two fundraisers in oil-rich Texas

29 September 2024

  • a man looks to the right next to a coal-fired power plant

    Leonard Leo-linked group attacking efforts to educate judges on climate

    Rightwing US thinktank claimed in report that non-profit holding trainings is ‘corruptly influencing the courts’

23 September 2024

  • a man in a black shirt stares at camera

    ‘Pessimism is a luxury we can’t afford’: Kumi Naidoo on fighting fossil fuels with art and culture

  • A car drives past a refinery with the sign ExxonMobil

    California sues ExxonMobil over alleged role in plastic pollution crisis

19 September 2024

  • First day of semester at Columbia University, as campuses brace for return of pro-Palestinian protests<br>People walk through Columbia University campus on the first day of the new semester in New York City, U.S., September 3, 2024. REUTERS/Adam Gray

    Elite US universities rake in millions from big oil donations, research finds

    Student-led analyses raise concerns of conflict of interest at six universities, including Princeton, Columbia and Cornell

12 September 2024

  • Oil refinery and petrochemical plant

    Big oil faces a rising number of climate-focused lawsuits, report finds

    Communities, states and advocacy groups push to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for role in climate crisis

9 September 2024

  • Bound plastic bottles.

    Most US voters say plastics industry should be held responsible for recycling claims – report

    Even a majority of Republicans support efforts to hold manufacturers accountable for allegedly deceptive claims

5 September 2024

  • a side-by-side image showing an oil refinery and a university building

    University funding from fossil fuels slowing switch to green energy – report

    Study’s authors say integrity of higher education ‘at risk’ upon finding lack of attention to role of oil and gas firms

2 August 2024

  • workers in white hazmat suits and reflective vests clean up a beach

    Harris is ‘perfect person’ to prosecute big oil, climate advocates say

    Environmentalists want DoJ to hold fossil fuel firms accountable and for presumptive nominee to lead charge

18 July 2024

  • A Guardian collage of images from industry 1970s industry periodical Marathon World published by a corporate predecessor of Marathon Petroleum

    US oil company ran 1977 article predicting climate crisis could cause starvation

    Marathon Petroleum predecessor warned of potential for ‘social and economic calamities’ in decades-old publication

28 June 2024

  • Two men in hard hats, jumpsuits and heavy boots work on dark purple painted pipes above, with pink floppy tubes and hard blue tubes.

    Colorado oil and gas wells can’t fund their own cleanup. Taxpayers may foot the bill

    A Carbon Tracker report shows the cost to safely shut down low-producing wells is $3bn more than what they earn

26 June 2024

  • An underwater view of a lot of plastic garbage, including a plastic bag, a plastic bottle and small bits of plastic.

    Plastics companies blocked mitigation efforts and may have broken US laws – study

  • A very thin woman raises a plastic bottle to her lips, in full sun with a blue tarp behind her.

    Lawyers could charge big oil with homicide after 2023 Arizona heatwave

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