The American Petroleum Institute (API) has just launched an eight figure ad campaign called ”Lights on Energy”.
The campaign aims to ensure that oil and gas companies are allowed to burn and extract more oil and fossil gas for decades to come (but forgets to mention that this which would slow down the green transition and make it impossible for the world to limit global warming to a manageable level).
So, how do you sell such destructiveness to policy-makers and voters? Easy. You label the problem as a solution. Not only does the campaign claim that ”oil and natural gas are vital to our energy future.” It also argues that NOT investing heavily in fossil energy – the major cause of the climate crisis – will ”put America's future at risk”. (Most scientists would argue it's the other way around.)
But hang on, it gets even weirder:
Contrary to all science, the campaign finally argues that U.S. fossil gas and oil ”can play a key role in supplying the world with cleaner energy.”
The whole campaign is based on the false assumption that oil and fossil gas are needed to meet the world's growing energy needs.
Well, guess what? It’s not. Despite the horrendous billion-dollar subsidies paid out to the oil, coal, and gas companies, renewables are now the cheapest form of energy in most parts of the world, even in the US. And the costs of installing new wind and solar plants keep dropping.
This, of course, is the reason why the fossil fuel industry is spending so much on this utterly bizarre campaign. It is an industry in a state of panic.
At COP28 in Dubai, all 200 nations signed an agreement that the world needs to transition away from all fossil fuels. More and more companies, investors, industry sectors and even governments are turning their back on oil, coal and gas.
Add to that the cost of premature deaths and health problems related to the burning of fossil fuels, and you have more arguments than you need to swiftly leave the era of fossil fuels behind ASAP.
The American Petroleum Institute is short-sighted, greedy, and disconnected from science and reality. It deserves nothing but a BIG Climate Warning! 
Embedded in this image is part of the campaign text. Photo by Robin Sommer on Unsplash
What do you think about the campaign? Learn more about it here:
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12 w
Insanity in a campaign format. How deep in the sand are they willing to go for even more money than they already have? This is awful.
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13 w
This is both hilarious and very despairing
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13 w
This campaign is insane, immoral and dangerous. API should stop this and similar lobbying against climate goals. API members that claim to work towards net zero such as bureau veritas, lafarge holcim, mitsubishi, rockwool, siemens, bp, shell and many others should demand they stop or leave the organisation.
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14 w
The campaign overlooks the significant health and environmental impacts associated with burning fossil fuels.
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14 w
repeating a lie often enough gives people the feeling that it is true, so we must call out the lie. There are laws in the US against false advertising; perhaps a clever lawyer could figure out how to sue them
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14 w
The American Petroleum Institute is similar to the gun lobby that sells more weapons after a school shooting in order to prevent it.
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14 w
Very strange indeed
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14 w
Dear Markus Lutteman Your climate warning has received over 50 agrees! We have reached out to American Petroleum Institute by email and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! To reach more people and increase the chance of a response, click the Share button above to share the review on your social accounts. For every new member that joins We Don't Have Time from your network, we will plant a tree and attribute it to you! /Adam, We Don't Have Time
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14 w
This is insane! We are here fighting to end fossil fuel, yet someone out there is pulling our efforts down? 😣, this not right at all
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14 w
Its is shame to see someone saying oil is safe. It is important to consider the environmental impact and explore alternative renewable energy sources.
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14 w
Allowing oil and gas companies to burn and extract more oil and fossil gases is quite unthoughtful of America and this has a negative impact on climate
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14 w
The shift to green energy isn't just an environmental imperative,it's an economic opportunity that should be the key course to all. We must PHASE-OUT fossil fuels for good.
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14 w
Talk about Climate Villains....
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14 w
This is an insane campaign
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14 w
Such misinformation undermines genuine efforts to transition toward truly sustainable and clean energy alternatives.
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14 w
Such misinformation undermines genuine efforts to transition toward truly sustainable and clean energy alternatives.
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14 w
sometimes one is left speechless. Why are we out to ruin our environment and for generations to come.
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14 w
This is a regressive step that undermines the efforts to address the climate crisis. ⚠
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14 w
Cant we just embrace a genuine shift towards sustainable energy?
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14 w
@dickson_mutai It wont be easy! This will forever derail us from achieving our goals!
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14 w
@dickson_mutai It seems like we are going round and round in a merry go round.We find ourselves back to where we started but we can fight this.
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14 w
This sounds so irresponsible, it is sad for policy makers to push oil and gas at this time and age by giving people misinformation. This must be stopped.
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14 w
@joseph_githinji Climate actors in work!!