The fossil fuel industry disinformation machine is in overdrive–as Big Oil seeks to sow confusion among the public and inaction among lawmakers. Fueled by billions in annual spending by dark money groups, coordinated disinformation campaigns are increasingly targeting teens. Fossil fuel companies, trade associations, and other high-carbon industries have outspent the climate sector by 27 to 1 in advertising over the last 10 years. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the fossil fuel industry the “godfathers of climate chaos” and urged countries, PR firms, and news outlets to ban Big Oil greenwashing.  

ACE and our partners launched a campaign to Make Polluters Pay, mobilizing young people to call on the U.S. Department of Justice and state Attorneys General to investigate Big Oil. We are celebrating a major victory in Vermont which created the first ever Climate Superfund–and a new model for states across the country–to force major fossil fuel companies to pay for climate damages that they have knowingly caused. We also expose dirty utility companies who are increasing utility costs for already strained ratepayers and funneling that public money into lobbying efforts and dark money groups to delay climate action. And we are fighting fossil fuel projects from Line 5 in the Midwest to liquified “natural” gas (LNG) export buildout in the Gulf South. Alongside frontline climate impacted communities in Texas and Louisiana, we mobilized our 60,000 Youth Action Network members and reached 30 million people to oppose LNG export terminal expansion resulting in the Biden Administration pausing all new LNG export terminals.