An Oily Planet

Big Oil’s Political Pay Back

“We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it,” Trump’s 2025 inaugural address.

The US and global fossil fuel sectors saw a return on their investment in the US 2024 political cycle as nothing seen before in the political history of the United States.  A record amount of money was spent by big oil to influence the 2024 US Presidential election outcome and other target political races in order to stay in control of America’s energy policy.   It might be considered just good business practice to protect the self-interest and influence control America’s fossil fuel industry has over government policy.

In the end, nearly 1 billion in US campaign dollars was spent this past by oil-gas and other fossil fuel sector interests on 2024 candidate races, issues, and from the US presidential race on down. It was the largest politically-funded influence campaign in modern US political history, and for the benefactors it appears to have paid off.

Follow the Money

A stunning $445m was donated and spent throughout the 2024 election cycle to elect Donald Trump President, and influence outcomes of targeted congressional races. Fossil fuel companies and their trade groups also spent another $243m lobbying Congress during this same period.  For these fossil fuel donors, representing the global dirty energy interests, with the election win of Donald Trump to the US presidency was the grand prize.

Big Oil MoneyFossil fuel interests successfully purchased the grand prize, the presidency and at bargain rates in terms of influencing an about face in national energy policy from a developing national clean energy economy, and full reverse backwards to 20th century fossil fuel dependent economy, but with a 21st century climate impact price tag.  The US oil and gas industrial sector stands to heavily profit from the new Trump administration’s national Trump-directed energy mantra, “drill baby drill”.

The money influence from this past election cycle extends far beyond the presidential race with ongoing influence throughout the new administration.  From Senate-confirmed Trump cabinet appointees, such as Chris Wright, the fracking CEO who was tapped to head the Department of Energy, and Lee Zeldin, the former New York representative who has accepted more than $400,000 in fossil fuel-tied campaign donations and who will lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

An additional $688 million dollars in political funding is a figure (fossil fuel funding from January 2023 and November 2024) range from political donations, lobbying and advertising to support elected officials, specific races and energy policies weighted to vested fossil fuel interests.  This figure does not include, however, additional money funneled through dark-money groups – which do not have to reveal their donors. It is almost certainly a vast understatement, according to a report from green advocacy group Climate Power, whose data findings are based on campaign finance disclosures and advertising industry data.

Individual fossil fuel donors interests also poured an additional $96 million into Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign and affiliated political action committees, much of that was covered by megadonor oil billionaires, such as the fracking magnate Harold Hamm, the pipeline mogul Kelcy Warren and the drilling tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand.  Additional contributions came from lesser-known oil and gas interests, including fossil fuel-trading hedge funds, mining corporations and the producers of offshore-drilling ships and fuel tanks.

Big oil interest groups further spent some $80 million on advertising to support their interests in the 2024 clection cycle. That includes funding for ad campaigns run in swing states, such as one from the refining lobbying organization American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (which falsely railed against Joe Biden’s pro-electric vehicle policies, and another eight-figure ad blitz from top US oil lobbying group the American Petroleum Institute that promoted the idea that fossil fuels are the “only” “vital energy source” able to support global energy security.

None of these campaigns specifically endorsed Trump, but targeted audiences in swing states inclined to vote for Trump, thus shoring up his incomprehensible support of fossil fuels ahead of all other energy options, particularly America’s ongoing success in an effective transition to clean energy replacements for oil and gas.

Oil and gas companies and trade groups further spent more than $25m on Republican down-ballot races, including $16m on House races, $8m on Senate fights and more than $500,000 on GOP gubernatorial candidates. These targeted investments are “likely to pay dividends”, the report says, with Republicans now in full control of the White House, House and Senate – as well as key fossil fuel vested states.

The newly installed President Donald Trump unleashed immediately after taking office dozens of pro-fossil fuel executive actions following the Project 2025 playbook for power, most executive orders issues by Trump defy both logic and reason when it comes a national 21st century energy path. He is also expected to pursue a vast array of other actions which climate science facts and findings and shut down progress target on clean energy replacement opportunities now underway, and all with the help of well-funded, and Republican-control, Congress.

Chile Forest Fires Global Heating

Trump’ promise to “drill, baby, drill” is more than post-campaign retroic, it in fact is the mantra of a misguided and powerful president, who has clearly stated he will remove limits on the already booming fossil fuel industry, with a mission to reverse former President Biden’s successful climate impact response and clean energy transition.

Examples of energy policy flip-flop took the form of Presidential orders without due process last week which pulled back approval of new wind leases, lifted key restrictions on fossil fuel extraction, cut off money dedicated to electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and cam with a Presidential promise to clawback IRA money now funding a national transition to clean and climate-resilient energy economy.

Legal experts said the president was testing the boundaries of executive power with aggressive orders designed to stop the country from transitioning to renewable energy.  The legality of last week’s wave of presidential mandates (without due process) remains to be seen.  Climate advocates and the scientific community are already preparing for the worst, a reversal of an effective and essential 21st century national response to a changing climate – and to a threat increasingly dangerous and costly to all living things on Earth.


Co2 Chart Jan 2025

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