In 2024, communities took on Big Oil, and Big Oil fought back
ExxonKnews reported on dubious legal strategies, dark money campaigns, Exxon’s closing ranks, and much more.
With climate and plastic negotiations sabotaged once again by industry lobbyists, communities across the globe recovering from more frequent and devastating climate disasters, and the rights of those who speak out against powerful entities under increasing threat, I won’t sugarcoat it — 2024 is ending on a menacing note.
Accountability matters more than ever. People are still showing up to protest and make their voices heard. Communities are still taking goliath corporations to court. Investigators and reporters are still exposing the truth and those who try to bury it.
Here at ExxonKnews, we worked to report on some of the emerging trends in these ongoing stories and bring new details to light. I’m particularly grateful to our news partners and collaborators who helped to amplify that work — and to you, our readers.
With that, here’s a look at some highlights from our coverage last year:
Fossil fuel interests worked on multiple fronts to fight accountability and control the narrative. Oil and gas companies tested new strategies — and doubled down on others — to escape increasing scrutiny for their role in the climate crisis.
In a partnership with DeSmog, ExxonKnews reported on how the law firm Gibson Dunn is helping some fossil fuel giants deploy a First Amendment defense against lawsuits accusing them of misleading the public about climate change while assisting others in using the courts to try to silence their critics.
ExxonKnews and The Lever reported on how industry groups are advocating for increased federal criminal penalties for protest in a bill meant to address pipeline safety.
Legal experts and a watchdog researcher talked about how Big Oil’s allies are waging an “unprecedented” dark money campaign to try to convince Supreme Court justices to throw out climate accountability cases.
ExxonKnews and DeSmog looked into the fossil fuel money trail behind anti-protest coverage from a local North Dakota “newspaper”.
A major utility sponsored content disguised as research about the energy transition in The Atlantic.
The industry continued to build out fossil fuel infrastructure — and gaslight the public about its consequences. From LNG and petrochemical facilities to carbon capture hubs and pipelines, companies set the stage for an exponential expansion of fossil fuel operations.
In January, I attended a “toxic tour” of petrochemical facilities in Southeast Texas, where residents explained how companies are green-and-whitewashing their destructive presence in local communities.
ExxonKnews and The Lever reported on Big Oil’s lobbying effort to limit the scope of CO2 pipeline regulations as it plans to dramatically expand carbon capture infrastructure across the United States. That reporting was cited in recommendations from the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council in October.
ExxonMobil went on the offensive. Executives at Exxon lashed out as the oil giant faced mounting pushback from the public, policymakers, shareholders, and governments.
Investors and advocates weighed in on Exxon’s effort to sue its own shareholders for proposing the company limit its emissions. Ultimately, the shareholders were forced to drop their proposal.
ExxonKnews and DeSmog reported on the departure of the first and only climate scientist from Exxon’s board of directors — and what it says about how the company has responded to pressure to change its ways.
New evidence revealed how Exxon’s present-day campaigns promoting “advanced” or “chemical” recycling are deceptive. That evidence was cited in California’s lawsuit against Exxon accusing it of misleading the public about plastic recycling as a solution to plastic waste (the first such case against a fossil fuel major).
New communities sued Big Oil and others took new fossil fuel defendants to court. More governments sued Exxon and other oil companies for climate damages and fraud.
New cases were filed by Maine, Chicago, and Pacific coast tribes, and Michigan announced its intent to file suit. We also looked at how oil companies are facing a reckoning for downplaying the ties between extreme weather and climate change — including new cases like Bucks County, Pennsylvania’s, that argue the industry’s deception helped delay climate action and lead to specific, deadly weather events.
A small county in Kansas filed a class action lawsuit against Exxon and a slew of other chemical and oil company defendants for plastic recycling deception. (Four residents in Kansas, Missouri, California and Florida just followed suit.)
Multnomah County, Oregon, became the first government to sue a gas utility for climate deception.
Legal experts weighed in on how Trump 2.0 could affect the U.S. climate cases.
Members of Congress investigated Big Oil and exposed new evidence.
I spoke with Jamie Raskin about his work on a years-long congressional investigation into Big Oil’s “campaigns of deception, disinformation, and doublespeak” and referral to the Department of Justice, along with the industry’s First Amendment defense in climate cases and how the federal government could protect the public against SLAPPs.
Local lawmakers pushed new legislation aimed at polluters. U.S. governments tested ways to take on Big Oil at the local level.
A new Pennsylvania bill aims to prevent corporations from engaging in greenwashing, or misleading environmental marketing.
Experts explained how “superfund” bills and climate accountability lawsuits are “very complementary, parallel tracks.”
Help us do more of this work in 2025!
Soon, the fossil fuel industry will have the keys to the castle under President-elect Trump, who has promised deals with oil and gas executives and pledged to rewind climate policies as the industry readies to expand its operations like never before. We’ll be keeping track of what happens and bringing you deeper dives on the stories that matter most.
If you’re a reporter, researcher, or editor who wants to partner with us, or you have tips, reach out at emily@exxonknews.org. If you want to republish our work and bring it to a larger audience, we often share stories through the Covering Climate Now collaborative.
If you’re already a subscriber, please encourage others to subscribe in the new year. See you in 2025!