Involvement of the fossil fuel industry in climate change mitigation efforts: Impacts on climate policymaking and on the pace of action

Abstract

The climate crisis took the centre stage in 2021 with IPCC releasing its Sixth Assessment Report in July amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, followed by the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), held in the month of November. 2021 was a year of contradictions too, on the climate front. On the one hand, Unilever went coal-free, and on the other, the Glasgow climate pact was adopted after a last-minute intervention by India to water down language on “phasing out” coal to merely “phasing down”, insinuating that coal will most definitely be around in the near future. Therefore, to understand humanity’s stance regarding climate change, we will be examining how the fossil fuel industry has dealt with the climate crisis over time, starting from 1965 when anthropogenic climate change was for the very first time recognized by the world as a serious problem that poses a threat to humanity if left unchecked. The effects of the fossil fuel industry’s participation in climate change mitigation talks on policymaking and the pace of the urgently needed change will be the key themes of this article.