{"id":590473,"date":"2023-09-09T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/labeling-innovation-as-greenwashing-diminishes-the-climate-fight\/"},"modified":"2023-09-09T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T13:00:00","slug":"labeling-innovation-as-greenwashing-diminishes-the-climate-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/labeling-innovation-as-greenwashing-diminishes-the-climate-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"#Labeling innovation as \u2018greenwashing\u2019 diminishes the climate fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/5e6a6ad44f2f4149865dc546671b2106-e1674841603310.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Much has been written about how our 24\/7 cycle of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> can be damaging.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In those spaces, incentives are increasingly in favor of those who yell louder rather than those who work together to get things done.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Unfortunately, we\u2019re seeing that dynamic play out in the environmental space, where a particular subset of activists is working to denigrate and undermine climate progress in the private sector rather than supporting actual climate action.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While this may be useful for raising profiles in Washington D.C. or attracting more money from donors, it unfortunately is a terrible idea for the goal we should all share: effectively addressing climate change.\u202f<\/p>\n<p>A successful climate strategy has to be balanced and comprehensive. It has to bring every stakeholder to the table. And energy firms are critical stakeholders to have at that table \u2014 in fact, they are indispensable.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Already, these firms have invested in nearly 80 carbon capture and storage\u202f<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage-2\">projects<\/a>\u202fthat will soon allow energy operations to tap and utilize carbon dioxide rather than release it. This serious focus on carbon capture has already\u202f<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage-2\">vaulted the U.S. ahead of Europe<\/a>, with American operations capturing\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1411879\/carbon-capture-and-storage-projects-worldwide-capacity-country\/\">23.7 million metric tons<\/a>\u00a0of carbon dioxide annually, nearly nine times our European counterparts.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More solutions are in development too, with Occidental Petroleum\u2019s Oxy Low Carbon Ventures announcing this year a $200 million\u202f<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/energy-firms-bet-big-carbon-capture-projects-us-canada-2023-03-10\/\">commitment<\/a>\u202f\u202fto low-carbon projects.\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conocophillips.com\/sustainability\/low-carbon-technologies\/low-carbon-opportunities\/\">ConocoPhillips<\/a>\u00a0has designated a 25,000-acre position in southeast Louisiana for a potential carbon capture and storage hub, while Chevron <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a> Ventures is\u202f<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hartenergy.com\/exclusives\/chevron-launches-300-million-fund-energy-transition-technology-192622\">investing<\/a>\u202fin a $300 million fund focused on \u201cindustrial decarbonization, emerging mobility, energy decentralization and the growing circular carbon economy.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019d think every environmental activist would <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>laud news that these considerable investments are creating meaningful results. And many do. But, sadly, some are responding with public condemnation and lawsuits instead.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In February, activists accused Shell of greenwashing in a\u202f<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/aboutblaw.com\/6Ip\">complaint<\/a>\u202fto the Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming the energy producer had exaggerated \u201cits financial commitment to renewable sources of energy.\u201d Shell joins a laundry list of companies including\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2022\/jun\/30\/coca-cola-among-brands-greenwashing-over-packaging-report-says\">Coca-Cola<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foodnavigator.com\/Article\/2022\/02\/08\/we-re-fooled-into-believing-that-these-companies-are-taking-sufficient-action-nestle-and-unilever-rebuff-greenwashing-accusation\">Nestle<\/a>\u00a0branded by some activists with the scarlet \u201cG.\u201d This campaign doesn\u2019t look set to abate anytime soon, either.<\/p>\n<p>By muddying public dialogue on climate, the greenwashing label has found its way into state and municipal climate lawsuits. Greenwashing is not a tort, but plaintiffs are trying to use it when suing energy firms. Climate suits could soon snowball following a Supreme Court\u202f<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/supreme-court\/supreme-court-rejects-oil-companies-appeals-climate-change-disputes-rcna49823\">decision<\/a>\u202f\u202fin April to allow plaintiffs to litigate in more tort-friendly state courts.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Environmental groups can\u2019t have it both ways. Critics of energy firms first disparaged them for taking insufficient action on climate change and now dismiss their robust discussion of climate-conscious plans as greenwashing. In other words, when energy firms make the climate-driven investments activists want, they get sued for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>These lawsuits and the associated \u201cgreenwashing\u201d claims may be designed to raise the profile of certain activists and groups in D.C., but they are not cost-free. They actually present a very serious danger to legitimate efforts to advance climate action. And it\u2019s not hard to see why. They disincentivize energy producers from developing the low-carbon innovative technologies we\u2019ll need to win on climate. They also create clouds of liability for companies that publicly showcase the good work they\u2019re doing in this area.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All of this can only take us backward, not forward.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that environmental groups and energy firms today are natural allies in the fight against climate change. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important for both to continue working together for constructive progress and realistic solutions. No matter what the incentives may be for a few bad eggs, now is simply not the moment to waste valuable time advancing the fiction that energy producers aren\u2019t actively fighting climate change when the record shows they are. After all, as President Biden\u202f<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2023-02-08\/biden-s-acknowledges-in-state-of-the-union-speech-that-oil-demand-to-endure?sref=0qIeASWn\">reminded<\/a>\u202fus in his State of the Union address, \u201cWe\u2019re going to need oil and gas for a while.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The question is how we can work together to make the bridge to our low-carbon future as quick and as smart as possible. That\u2019s where everyone\u2019s focus should be. And getting there will require serious cooperation between environmental groups and energy firms.\u202f<\/p>\n<p><em>Sarah\u00a0E.\u00a0Hunt\u00a0is president of the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy and director of policy and strategy at the Arizona State University Rob &amp; Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service.<\/em>\u00a0<em>Previously, she ran clean energy and climate change programs at the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Niskanen Center.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/energy-environment\/4194040-labeling-innovation-as-greenwashing-diminishes-the-climate-fight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much has been written about how our 24\/7 cycle of news and social media can be damaging.\u00a0 In those spaces, incentives are increasingly in favor of those who yell louder rather than those who work together to get things done.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we\u2019re seeing that dynamic play out in the environmental space, where a particular subset&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":590474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/5e6a6ad44f2f4149865dc546671b2106-e1674841603310.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134343,145669,145670,43485,134353,134661,134447,145671,124783,991,141939,4965],"class_list":["post-590473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-campaign","tag-carbon-capture-utilization-and-storage","tag-clean-energy-transition","tag-climate-change","tag-court-battles","tag-energy-environment","tag-energy-and-environment","tag-greenwashing","tag-international","tag-joe-biden","tag-politics-of-the-united-states","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}