Big oil’s decades of deception on climate change

IN recent years, the world has begun to grapple with the devastating reality of climate change: rising sea levels, catastrophic storms, prolonged droughts and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. Yet, behind the scenes, a chilling truth has emerged: for decades, some of the world’s largest fossil fuel corporations deliberately concealed and manipulated scientific evidence, deploying aggressive disinformation campaigns to protect their profits at the expense of the planet and its people.

A groundbreaking report, “Decades of Deceit: The Case Against Major Fossil Fuel Companies for Climate Fraud and Damages,” published by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in May 2025, draws upon dozens of internal industry documents, lawsuits, congressional subpoenas and industry testimonies, revealing a long history of corporate misconduct, cover-ups and calculated misinformation. The evidence exposes how industry giants like ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and British Petroleum knew for decades about the role of their products in climate change, but systematically chose to hide and distort the truth while investing heavily in campaigns to deny, delay and distract.