Big Oil’s evolving climate messaging hides widespread public demand for action, fueling a spiral of silence that discourages citizens, businesses, and policymakers from speaking out or pushing for meaningful change.
An internal BP document from 2020 captured a stark concern within the fossil fuel industry: “We’re seen as one of the bad guys.” At a time when climate change was drawing growing public anger and protest, company officials were already weighing how to counter mounting criticism.
That quote, first uncovered by investigative outlet Drilled, has resurfaced in a new report released by watchdog group Clean Creatives. The report examines how major oil companies have reshaped their public messaging on climate change in recent years. It highlights the media as a key target of industry public relations efforts, making its findings particularly relevant for journalists covering the climate crisis.
The fossil fuel sector has long faced a public relations dilemma. The burning of oil gas and coal is the leading cause of global warming and the extreme weather events that follow, including heat waves droughts storms and rising sea levels. As these impacts intensify, public resentment toward the companies responsible has grown.
To manage that backlash, companies such as BP and ExxonMobil have adopted a range of strategies over decades. Early on, they relied on outright deception. By the 1970s, their own scientists had warned senior executives that fossil fuel use could threaten human civilization. Instead of acting, the industry concealed those findings and spent millions on advertising questionable research and other propaganda aimed at persuading the public policymakers and journalists that there was little cause for concern.
According to Clean Creatives, those efforts continue today in more subtle forms. The group analyzed 1,859 public messages produced between 2020 and 2024 by BP ExxonMobil Shell and Chevron. These included advertisements social media posts investor communications and public statements by executives. The analysis found that messaging across these companies evolved in similar ways over time.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which disrupted global energy markets, earlier commitments to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 largely disappeared from company communications. In their place came a new narrative emphasizing energy security and the continued need for fossil fuels alongside emissions reductions. By 2024, that position had shifted further to suggest that modern society cannot function without fossil fuels.
The industry’s focus on shaping public perception reflects a broader reality. Surveys from the 89% Project by Covering Climate Now show that between 80 and 89 percent of people worldwide support stronger government action on climate change. Yet many believe their views are not widely shared and therefore remain silent.
A separate report from the UK-based Climate Majority Project finds that this pattern extends beyond climate policy. Majorities globally feel threatened by environmental breakdown fear social instability and support reduced consumerism. However, they often assume they are in the minority and hesitate to speak out or demand change.
The report describes this phenomenon as a “spiral of silence,” where widespread but unexpressed support for action weakens momentum for reform. Even business leaders who recognize the need for new economic rules to prevent climate catastrophe often avoid lobbying for change due to this perception.
Journalists, the report suggests, have a crucial role in either reinforcing or breaking this cycle. Speaking at a recent Covering Climate Now press briefing, Caroline Lucas a former UK Green Party leader and longtime member of parliament pointed to a key paradox. “The majority only speaks out when they feel powerful enough to act but that sense of power only comes from hearing others speak,” she said.
Lucas noted that more voices are beginning to emerge and urged journalists to amplify perspectives that remain unheard. She called for greater attention to those silent majorities whose views could reshape the climate debate if brought into the open.
This report is republished from Covering Climate Now.
