BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK, BENJAMIN FRANTA, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE

The brief contends that fossil fuel companies have engaged in a long-term strategy of deception, shifting from explicit denial to framing climate change as a manageable 'risk' and shifting responsibility to individual consumers. It provides evidence that companies like BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell promote themselves as clean energy leaders while maintaining massive investments in fossil fuels and funding third-party organizations to undermine climate science.

• Fossil fuel companies have transitioned from explicit denial of climate science to using ambiguous language regarding 'risk' to downplay the severity of the crisis. A study of Exxon's public communications from 2000 onward found that 'risk(s)' was the term most highly associated with 'climate change' and 'global warming'.
• The industry has used marketing strategies to shift the responsibility for climate change from producers to individual consumers. This is exemplified by BP's introduction of a 'carbon footprint calculator' in the early 2000s, which focuses on consumer choices rather than production.
• There is a significant discrepancy between the public 'green' branding of fossil fuel companies and their actual financial investments. Between 2003 and 2018, leading fossil fuel companies spent over $3 billion on marketing campaigns portraying themselves as responsible actors while failing to take meaningful action.
• Specific investment data reveals that BP's energy investments remained 96 percent in fossil fuels in 2019, with less than 4 percent in 'alternative energy'.
• Chevron's commitment to sustainable energy is contradicted by its financial records; between 2010 and 2018, the company spent only 0.2 percent of its $13 billion annual capital expenditures on low-carbon energy sources.
• ExxonMobil's promotion of algae biofuels is described as meager, representing only 0.2 percent of the company's refinery production between 2010 and 2018.
• Shell's 2020 financial data shows it spent $17 billion on fossil fuel operations compared to $2-3 billion for low-carbon expenditures. Specifically, it spent $1.7 billion on new fossil fuel exploration, which was 24 times its spending on carbon capture and storage ($70 million).
• Despite public pledges to stop funding climate denier groups, Exxon spent approximately $13 million between 2008 and 2019 funding think tanks and lobby groups that reject established climate science.

APA

Brulle, R., Franta, B., Lewandowsky, S., Oreskes, N., & Supran, G. (2021). BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK, BENJAMIN FRANTA, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE. Center for Climate Integrity. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Sept2021-Deception-Amicus-Brief.pdf

Chicago

Brulle, Robert, Benjamin Franta, Stephan Lewandowsky, Naomi Oreskes, and Geoffrey Supran. BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK, BENJAMIN FRANTA, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE. Center for Climate Integrity, 2021. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Sept2021-Deception-Amicus-Brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brulle |first1=Robert |last2=Franta |first2=Benjamin |last3=Lewandowsky |first3=Stephan |last4=Oreskes |first4=Naomi |last5=Supran |first5=Geoffrey |title=BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK, BENJAMIN FRANTA, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE |publisher=Center for Climate Integrity |date=14 September 2021 |url=https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Sept2021-Deception-Amicus-Brief.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brulle2021brief, author = {Brulle, Robert and Franta, Benjamin and Lewandowsky, Stephan and Oreskes, Naomi and Supran, Geoffrey}, title = {{BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK, BENJAMIN FRANTA, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE}}, institution = {Center for Climate Integrity}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Sept2021-Deception-Amicus-Brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }