Purposeful Deception on the Verge of Delusion: Addressing the fossil fuels industry’s narratives causing the impasse within the energy transition
Abstract: In order to meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement, fossil fuels need to be left underground. Despite being aware of their environmental impact, fossil fuels companies have purposefully hindered climate action and the energy transition in two different ways: at first denying the relevance of the climate crisis, and, most recently, representing themselves as the leaders of climate mitigation. There is a fundamental socio-psychological component within the current impasse caused by the fossil fuels industry, and it is significantly under-researched. As a part of the CLIFF project, this study answers the following question: how has the shift of narrative adopted by the fossil fuels industry influenced European climate perception and hindered the energy transition while avoiding any form of accountability? Through the analysis of existing literature, critical content and discourse analysis of Shell’s sustainability reports, the analysis of Shell’s social media ads, a survey distributed in various European countries, and semi-structured interviews with leading scholars and activists, this study reached the following conclusions: a) the misleading strategies identified are traditional forms of climate denial (undermining science, spreading doubt, and lobbying), as well as new forms of climate denial (greenwashing, techno-optimism, and strategic blame placement), which acknowledge the climate crisis, but equally reject and delay climate action; b) the fossil fuels industry is both the perpetuator and the victim of this new form of denial; c) their purposeful deception is mostly targeted towards young males, which reveals the fossil fuels industry’s intention of maintaining a patriarchal status quo, deepening the correlation between fossil fuels and masculinity (Petro-masculinity); d) most Europeans are unhappy to support this industry as consumers; e) fossil fuels executives should be held morally and legally accountable for their role within the climate crisis and purposeful delay of the energy transition that could save humankind from extinction.