Building a Climate Brand In the wake of pressure from campaigners, the media, and now from investors and legal plaintiffs, the oil majors have found it expedient to invest in individual and coordinated branding campaigns which position them as on board with an ambitious climate agenda post-Paris. To deliver this messaging, they make use of numerous channels. These include sophisticated advertising campaigns, targeting social media and the use of public transport and traditional media spaces to ensure they are widely received. This also includes high-level communications, predominantly delivered by senior management of the oil majors, to build trust with key stakeholders such as investors or politicians. Key tactics and examples of corporate climate branding strategies are noted in the next chapter and are illustrated in the graphic below. The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is a joint industry initiative established in 2014 to promote the sector’s climate change efforts. Amplifying individual company narratives, the OGCI focuses on technology solutions, operational methane emissions and low carbon investments. This includes a $1Bn low carbon start up fund established by the OGCI as a sector-wide response to climate, in comparison with a total fossil fuel related capital expenditure by the five oil majors of $100Bn in 2018 alone. The OGCI deemphasizes the need for regulatory solutions and any limitations in fossil fuel use, both of which are strongly advocated as necessary to limit to 1.5o C in warming by the latest IPCC report. It can be argued that, given its substantial communications power, the OGCI thus plays a role in distracting from the need for an urgent and binding policy response to climate change. This research highlights the increasing disconnect between the oil majors’ efforts towards positive climate branding and their lobbying and actual business decisions. As the urgency of action on climate change grows, the line between this lobbying and that of the sector’s branding on climate becomes ever blurred, with the ultimate effect of stalling meaningful action by policy makers. 8 InfluenceMap March 2019