"Oil Industry Has Sought To Block State Backing For Green Tech Since 1960s"

"Research shows industry lobbying against support for solar panels and electric cars while enjoying subsidies itself".

"The oil industry has fought against government support for clean technologies for more than half a century, the Guardian can reveal, even as vast subsidies have propped up its polluting business model.

It lobbied lawmakers to block support for low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, electric cars and heat pumps as far back as the 1960s, analysis shows. Trade associations in the US and Europe stymied green innovations under the guise of supporting a “technology neutral” approach to avoiding the damage done by burning their fuels.

The same incumbents were happy to lobby for government support when they were getting started, and had continued to benefit from it since, said Dario Kenner, a visiting research fellow at the University of Sussex who trawled through decades of public statements from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and FuelsEurope."

Ajit Niranjan reports for the Guardian March 8, 2024.

Source: Guardian, 03/11/2024