Executive Summary ◼ This research finds that the five largest publicly-traded oil and gas majors (ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, BP and Total) have invested over $1Bn of shareholder funds in the three years following the Paris Agreement on misleading climate-related branding and lobbying. These efforts are overwhelmingly in conflict with the goals of this landmark global climate accord, and designed to maintain the social and legal license to operate and expand fossil fuel operations. ◼ Company disclosures of spending on climate lobbying and branding are very limited. To fill this transparency gap, InfluenceMap has devised a methodology using best-available disclosures and intensive research of corporate messaging to evaluate oil major spending aimed at influencing the climate agenda, both directly and through their key trade groups ◼ The research reveals a trend of carefully devised campaigns of positive messaging combined with negative policy lobbying on climate change. The aim is to maintain public support on the issue while holding back binding policy. This spending accompanies the expansion of the companies’ operations with combined annual sales of over $1Tn and profits of $55Bn 2018, the vast majority of which is oil and gas related. Combined capital investment will increase to $115Bn in 2019 but only about 3% of this will go to low carbon investments, according to company disclosures. ◼ The most important part of this campaign activity is the nearly $200M per year spent on lobbying designed to control, delay, or block binding climate-motivated policy. This lobbying has hindered governments globally in their efforts to implement such policies post-Paris, which according to the latest IPCC report of 2018 are crucial to meet climate targets and keep warming below 1.5oC. ◼ All five oil majors continue their efforts to capture the narrative on fossil fuels and climate, driven by coordinated messaging from corporate leadership on the need for increased fossil fuel production to meet global energy demand. Since Paris, Chevron, BP and ExxonMobil have led in direct lobbying activities to oppose a range of progressive climate policy strands. Royal Dutch Shell and to some extent Total have made steps since 2015 to be more positive on a number of climate policy issues. However, both companies continue to support policy supporting a continued role for fossil fuels in the energy mix and remain part of highly climate-oppositional trade associations like the American Petroleum Institute. ◼ A key trend is the tactical use of social media. In the four weeks up to the US midterm elections ExxonMobil led the majors and their agents in combined spending of $2M on targeted Facebook and Instagram ads promoting the benefits of increased fossil fuel production and supporting successful opposition to several key climate related ballot initiatives on November 6th, 2018. 2 InfluenceMap March 2019