Think about oil and gas companies and climate change and chances are you’ll think dark thoughts. It’s true Exxon Mobil had remarkably detailed knowledge of global warming in the 1970s. Some seeded doubt by funding climate denier organisations and scientists and invented greenwashing. The current energy crisis has handed them windfall profits. In fact, BP hit profits of A$40 billion last year, while scaling back its green ambitions.
But these companies are not just going to disappear. Even after we stop burning oil in engines, we will need oil and gas as raw materials for plastics, glues, solvents, industrial chemicals and fertilisers. Eventually, we’ll find greener alternatives. But that will take decades.
