Fossil fuels

Millions of people around the world are already experiencing the devastating impacts of a warming climate, with extreme weather patterns, floods, droughts, and wildfires becoming ever more frequent and intense. The extraction and burning of hydrocarbons is threatening the future - not just of our planet but of humanity itself. 

For years, the fossil fuel industry has built its power by telling the public that we need oil and gas to heat our homes and fuel our transport. Yet our dependence on these energy sources has now burdened us with skyrocketing bills, while energy companies and their CEOs enjoy record profits. 

It’s also no coincidence that many of the places where fossil fuels are extracted happen to be where some of the worst human rights abuses are being committed. Fossil fuels have become a cash cow for those that control them, empowering authoritarian leaders to start wars, abuse citizens and disregard human rights. 

It doesn’t have to be this way.  

Change is possible. Over the decades, alternative energy sources have been developed that don’t come with the same climate-wrecking baggage. The technologies and expertise now exist to harness the earth’s natural elements – wind, sun, water – to replace fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal.  

What’s lacking is the political desire. For too long, governments have been happy to settle with decades long ‘transitions’, without any serious milestones or accountability measures. The reason? The political power of the fossil fuel industry. 

Whether through bribery and outright corruption – or through the millions they spend on lobbying – fossil fuel companies have managed to convince leaders the world over against the policies and reforms we so desperately need, to keep us all hooked on their products. 

And throwing huge sums into these efforts doesn’t stop with politicians. They now use all of the PR tactics imaginable to deceive the public and conceal their true intentions, hiding behind climate-friendly language and greenwashing. 

For the sake of the climate, peace, and human rights, we urgently need to phase out fossil fuels. 

Building on our decades of experience in bringing transparency and accountability to the oil and gas sector, we are working to expose the influence of fossil fuel companies over government decision-making, to break those ties, and to end government support that is further entrenching our dependence on fossil fuels.