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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Ajit Niranjan

Oil industry has sought to block state backing for green tech since 1960s

Solar panels being installed on the roof of King's College chapel in Cambridge
Solar panels being installed at King's College chapel in Cambridge. The oil industry lobbied lawmakers to block support for low-carbon technologies. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty

The oil industry has fought against government support for clean technologies for more than half a century, the Guardian can reveal, even as vast subsidies have propped up its polluting business model.

It lobbied lawmakers to block support for low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, electric cars and heat pumps as far back as the 1960s, analysis shows. Trade associations in the US and Europe stymied green innovations under the guise of supporting a “technology neutral” approach to avoiding the damage done by burning their fuels.

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