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By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic lawmakers on
Thursday asked the chiefs of four major fossil fuel companies
and two lobbying groups to testify next month on whether the
industry led an effort to mislead the public and prevent action
to fight climate change.
House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and Ro
Khanna, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, sent
letters to chief executives of Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron
Corp, BP USA, Royal Dutch Shell Oil Co,
asking them to appear before a hearing on Oct. 28 and provide
emails and documents.
They also sent the requests, first reported by the New York
Times, to the heads of the lobbying groups the American
Petroleum Institute (API) and the Chamber of Commerce.
"I plan to get to the bottom of how fossil fuel companies
have raked in trillions of dollars of profit at the expense of
our planet and our health, all while spreading doubt and
disinformation about the dangers of fossil fuels," Maloney said
through a spokesperson.
The letter cited a study in the peer-reviewed journal
Climatic Change that said 91 think tanks and advocacy
organizations that downplayed global warming were funded by
Exxon and industry groups.
The requests come months after a video surfaced in June, in
which an Exxon lobbyist said the company's public support for a
tax on carbon was a ruse because the plan to curb climate change
would never gain enough political support to be adopted.
The day the footage aired, Darren Woods, Exxon's
chairman and chief executive, condemned the lobbyist's remarks.
The requests also come as Democrats seek to pass climate
measures in the massive budget reconciliation bill, some of
which fossil fuel interests oppose because they could add costs
to drilling and mining.
BP said it is advocating for policies such as carbon pricing
and regulating methane emissions that support the transition to
a net-zero emissions world by 2050.
Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said the company had no comment
"as of now." The two other companies did not immediately respond
to requests for comment.
API spokesperson Bethany Aronhalt said her organization
welcomes the opportunity to testify and "advance our priorities
of pricing carbon, regulating methane and reliably producing
American energy."
A spokesperson for the Chamber said the group believes that
inaction on climate change is not an option and that it has been
working with lawmakers on solutions "most notably" in the
bipartisan infrastructure bill.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
