Renewable energy discourses of fossil fuel companies: obstruction and delay of climate action

Background

For decades, multinational fossil fuel companies have strategically promoted discourses to obstruct climate action. Initially, the fossil fuel industry publicized communications that denied the role of fossil fuels in climate destabilization. Recently, however, they have advanced nuanced messages to delay climate action and policy. As the climate crisis worsens and calls to phase out fossil fuels intensify, research into the industry has revealed pervasive “greenwashing” and a discrepancy between external messaging on renewable energy and internal operational positions. Corporate annual reports, which are public-facing communications, offer insights into how companies align their internal strategy with their external messaging. Based on a textual analysis of the annual reports of four of the largest fossil fuel companies (ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies), this research compares how companies have adapted their communication strategies about renewable energy between 2016 and 2022.

Results

The study reveals that each company focuses on different renewable energy technologies and highlights a variety of positive and negative messages about renewable energy. Since 2016, positive messaging about renewable energy has increased, including narratives on economic benefits, sustainable development, climate action, and strategic business benefits. Negative messaging, including mentions of variable energy intensity, potential business risks, and reductions in companies’ renewable energy businesses, constitutes a small yet consistent part of the communications. This combination of sentiments highlights the benefits of renewable energy while simultaneously undermining the positives with nuanced and negative messages about renewable energy. By promoting fossil fuels as a partner to renewable energy, corporate messages link renewable energy to fossil fuels, reinforcing discourses that slow down the energy transition and expand fossil fuel production with renewable energy development.

Conclusions

Since the 2015 Paris Agreement, the annual reports of fossil fuel companies consistently employed a communication strategy of mixed-sentiment messages that link renewable energy to fossil fuels, particularly fossil gas (i.e., commonly known as natural gas). In this way, companies created and employed doublespeak and delay tactics, obscuring the need to phase out fossil fuels to achieve global climate and sustainability goals.