CHICAGO — Progressive climate activists are livid that oil and gas interests were given a platform at a side event of the Democratic National Convention here — and they’re saying something about it.
Their anger underscores tensions between the left flank of the Democratic Party and the fossil fuel industry, which increasingly has served as the chief villain in the party’s climate messaging.
On Wednesday, three groups — Friends of the Earth, Climate Hawks Vote and Oil Change U.S. — released a statement maligning a daylong offsite event hosted by Punchbowl News.
Among myriad panels featuring industry representatives and policymakers were two segments sponsored by Exxon Mobil: an interview with Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), a moderate from an oil and gas-producing district, then a “fireside chat” with Vijay Swarup, Exxon Mobil’s senior director for climate strategy and technology.
Those events followed a panel with the heads of American Clean Power, the American Gas Association, the Edison Electric Institute and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
The protesting organizations, in their joint press release, condemned the entire lineup but trained the bulk of their ire toward Exxon Mobil. Lukas Ross, deputy climate and energy director at Friends of the Earth Action, said that “any fossil fuel company looking to peddle influence in Chicago should be shown the door.”
Event disrupted
Four activists were able to infiltrate the Punchbowl program, finding a staircase to enter the event when security guards would not let them access the main elevator.
“I’m a Democratic National Committee member, and I am here because Exxon lied and people died,” said RL Miller, the political director of Climate Hawks Vote, as she and her colleagues then chanted “Exxon lies, people die.” They were collectively escorted out of the room.
There were initially 10 to 15 protesters who attempted to get into the event and could be heard shouting from a stairwell, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in overcoming security, said Collin Rees, the political director of Oil Change U.S., who was among those who made it through.
The group that disrupted the event only made it in after the Exxon Mobil panels had concluded and a lunch break was getting underway.
“It’s a huge problem that people like Congresswoman Fletcher … are normalizing their presence here, are showing up and speaking on panels with them, are legitimizing their part in the energy transition,” Rees told POLITICO’s E&E News after the disruption.
“This is not a company that cares about electing Democrats,” he continued. “In fact, it’s the opposite. And so I think it’s deeply concerning.”
‘Serve the interest of everybody’
Fletcher, in her remarks, spoke about the need to address climate change without alienating the energy workers she represents and the industry they power, while Swarup underscored the research and development gains that have allowed his company to improve its environmental footprint.
Spokespeople for Exxon Mobil and Fletcher did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
National Democrats have been doubling down on demonizing oil and gas as a way of reaching voters on climate issues, tying climate action to combating corporate greed and alleged efforts to fix prices and obscure the impact of their activities on exacerbating global warming.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee who has been working on an investigation into Big Oil activities with Senate Budget Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), reflected on the industry’s presence in Chicago after addressing the DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis.
“Everybody’s voice is welcome,” he said, “but it’s incumbent upon the rest of us to act in the interests of all of society and all of humanity. … Obviously we can’t be following the directions of the tiny part of the population that makes its livelihood by profiting from carbon emissions. We need to be making public policy decisions that serve the interest of everybody.”
