Issue: Oil

I first learned about the term “climate finance” in 2021 and immediately resonated with the creative perspective behind the strategic analysis. We know that shutting down fossil fuel projects through NVDA works. Tactics have been employed to continue moving the public narrative around these companies and fossil fuel extraction, like campaigns to get fossil fuel companies out of environmental conferences like COP, and movements targeting the recruitment pipeline for these institutions. I view Climate Finance as an extension of these tactics, utilizing power mapping to understand what is allowing the continued expansion of fossil fuels in the face of growing urgency around climate change.

We’ve just wrapped up COP28 in Dubai. While there were a lot of great words about the need to decarbonize and reduce emissions (though pointedly not the words “phase-out”), it’s impossible to ignore the context of those grand statements: an international climate treaty conference located in a petrostate, presided over by an oil executive, overrun by fossil fuel lobbyists, and being used as the backdrop for still more oil and gas deals. Despite these structural barriers and some oddly patronizing attempts at pacification, climate advocates have made their voices heard at COP28, rejecting Dubai’s facade of decorum and business-as-usual.
It’s been a few years since we wrote a newsletter summarizing insights on fossil fuel fights* – so as we close out 2023 (and salute the hard-fought wins we’ve achieved this year!) let’s keep an eye on the fossil fuel front and explore some ways to respond.