By Dr. Roger Roots, J.D., Ph.D.
Feb. 14, 2026. Big Oil companies, such as ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, Occidental Petroleum, and others, have spent over HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS in under a decade on bogus “environmental programs, carbon capture and storage (CCUS), low-carbon fuels, renewables, and related initiatives.” This is more than the annual budgets of most states.
These vast dollar amounts are being spent to appease the left; so that Big Oil can claim it “believes” in the catastrophic-climate-change-by-manmade-CO2 religion and is “doing something” to ‘lower carbon emissions.’
Needless to say, this dollar amount vastly eclipses–on a scale of perhaps tens of thousand-to-one–any amounts spent by fossil fuel companies (decades ago) to support “skeptical” climate science.
Note that numerous academics have built successful careers–and won the highest awards in academia–for promoting the notion that fossil fuel companies are secretly funding skeptical science; or even that skepticism of the government’s doomsday-climate claims is wholly funded by fossil fuel companies. The New York Attorney General’s office spent millions, and forced Exxon and Mobil to produce millions of documents in 2018 to try to build a case that ExxonMobil had hidden evidence of catastrophic-climate-change-by-CO2 from the world. The New York Supreme Court found the claim meritless.
Any shareholder of these corporations has grounds to file a shareholder derivative suit for squandering corporate funds. Fossil fuel companies are now the second-biggest funder (behind only governments) of the government climate doomsday theory. In fact fossil fuel companies are now the biggest funders of the COP meetings and other “environmentalist” propaganda festivals.
In fact, shareholders of these companies should sue the companies FOR FAILING TO fund skeptical research or push back on the CO2 doomsday propaganda agenda.
Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a consortium of 12 major oil companies (including Aramco, BP, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell, and TotalEnergies) has focused on “emissions reductions and low-carbon technologies.” Since 2017, they’ve collectively invested around $125 billion in areas like “renewables,” biofuels, hydrogen, and CCUS. In 2023 alone, this group spent a record $29.7 billion on such initiatives, with over half going to “renewables” and a growing portion to CCUS hubs. Specific projects include Eni’s Ravenna CCS hub in Italy (which began injecting CO₂ in 2023) and the Northern Lights facility in Norway (a joint venture by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies for offshore CO₂ storage).
As of 2025, NONE of these “carbon capture” projects have actually captured more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the amount of carbon dioxide the projects released into the atmosphere to build them. (The same appears to be true regarding “biofuels” which convert corn and other grains into fuel.)
ExxonMobil is pursuing up to $30 billion in lower-emissions “investments” from 2025 through 2030, with about 65% aimed at helping other companies reduce their emissions through technologies like CCUS.
ExxonMobil launched its Low Carbon Solutions business in 2021, initially committing $3 billion over five years, and has captured over 120 million tonnes of CO₂ to date. Key projects include a proposed $100 billion Houston-area CCUS facility to remove 50 million tons of CO₂ annually from industrial sources, as well as “investments” in biofuels, algae-based fuels, and direct air capture (DAC) technologies.
Shell allocated $10-15 billion for low-carbon solutions between 2023 and 2025, emphasizing hydrogen, renewables, and clean tech. This includes investments in offshore wind, electric vehicle charging, and CCUS projects like the Northern Lights initiative. The company has also reduced its operational emissions through methane detection and flaring reductions as part of broader OGCI commitments.
Chevron has “invested” heavily in CCUS startups and projects, including leading a $45 million funding round for Ion Clean Energy (a carbon capture solvent developer) and acquiring a 50% stake in the Bayou Bend CCS project near Houston. Additional “investments” include Carbon Clean Solutions and Svante (carbon capture tech firms), as well as ventures in lithium and graphite for EV batteries. Chevron’s total low-carbon spending is part of broader industry trends, with acquisitions and R&D in clean tech.
Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) is now presenting itself as a leader in CCUS and enhanced oil recovery using captured CO₂. It has “invested” in startups like Carbon Engineering (for DAC tech), Cemvita (biotech for low-carbon fuels), Carbon Upcycling, and LanzaTech (carbon reuse). The company is building the world’s first large-scale DAC facility and has committed to carbon finance labs for emissions offsets.
BP “invested” $1.6 billion in low-carbon energy in 2024 (including renewables, biofuels, hydrogen, and CCUS), though it has scaled back some targets to focus more on oil and gas.
Globally, the oil and gas industry “invested” about $30 billion in clean energy in 2023, which accounts for roughly 4% of its total capital expenditures (capex). For the major oil companies, low-carbon investments typically range from 3-12% of annual capex, translating to $10-30 billion per year across the top firms.
