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Biased pluralism and fossil fuel production

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

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The fossil fuel industry provides crude oils, coal, and natural gasses for public consumption.[1] They excrete an extremely high amount of carbon into the atmosphere during the production process.[1] Much of the world depends on fossil fuels for daily life, which gives companies that produce them power over their consumers.

Biased pluralism is evident in the fossil fuel industry. These oil, coal, and gas companies or interest groups hold power over other interest groups including public consumers and the government. This is also known as the “energy lobby” or fossil fuels lobby.

To give insight to the term “biased pluralism”,  pluralism in political theory means that while the government has control over most of the political decisions made for the country, many influential groups (like fossil fuel companies) use what is available to them to sway decisions and influence outcomes.[2]

Biased pluralism means that these influential groups actually have more power and influence than the government at times in making decisions. These corporations, businesses, and associations gain traction via their power and policies are often made in their favor.

To summarize, fossil fuel companies influence governmental policies based on their power, then experience financial gain due to policies favoring them, and in turn, use their status to continue the cycle of biased pluralism.

Theories[edit]

Power in the fossil fuel industry[edit]

This industry has power over other interest groups due to sources such as experience, money, expertise, advertising, inheritance, reputation, and the fact that nearly all of the population depends on fossil fuels to live. Fossil fuels are used to power transportation, electricity, heating and cooling, and impacts how humans can work, eat, and live their day-to-day lives.

Fossil fuel production consists of turning resources like crude oil, natural gasses, and coal into consumable products with monetary value. As the population consumes these products, the wealth of fossil fuel companies grows. This monetary power given to fossil fuel interest groups creates an environment for a political agenda revolving around corporate power. Increasing corporate power is shown in this industry as companies make decisions with their best interests in mind, rather than the wellbeing of the majority of the population and the climate. This results in an uneven issuance of socioeconomic power.

A majority of the fossil fuel industry is made up of upper and elite class members that do not directly experience the impacts of greenhouse gasses produced by their industry on the earth. These impacts are more severely felt by middle, lower middle, working class, and below the poverty line individuals. Without access to constant clean air and water, climate change is a more dire situation for these individuals. Many of the elite and upper class population are not concerned with climate change either because they do not live close to places where climate change is visibly an issue, or because they are too invested in the fossil fuel industry to turn their back on it. This is a large display of neo-pluralism and corporatism.

The fossil fuels lobby[edit]

This fossil fuels lobby pays employees to influence governmental parties to make policies in their favor and undermines events like the second World Climate Conference as told by the International Sustainable Energy Organization for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. Lobbying to deflect clean energy policies for climate change keeps these fossil fuel companies afloat, and drives them to invest against “green energy” and climate health.[3]

Background and history[edit]

File:Seven Sisters (oil companies).jpg
Fossil fuel lobby companies

The Seven Sisters is a grouping of the seven “original” fossil fuel companies, including BP (formerly known as Anglo-Persian Oil Company), Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, and ConocoPhillips. They are also known as “big oil”.[4] These companies formed the Consortium for Iran and dominated oil reserved from around 1940 until the oil crisis in 1973.[4] They now control a majority of the oil reserves that help them gain power over other interest groups.[5]

These companies are motivated by short-term interests and gains. If they can make money now, the future is irrelevant. When renewable and clean energy did not immediately make as much money and oil, coal, and gasses, they were not interested.[6][7]

Reinvention of the companies was too much work in the short term perspective and relied on the trend of the government being slow to make definitive policies regarding climate change. The fossil fuel companies decided to dive deeper into the cavern that is unsustainable energy production, and stick to it for financial gain.[6]

However, the negligence has not been beneficial to companies like ExxonMobil, due to the exposure of information revealing that they and others have been aware of the damages our earth will undergo due to fossil fuels.[6]

Flag of the EPA

Influence[edit]

Influential parties and stakeholders[edit]

Influential parties and stakeholders concerned with the biased pluralism happening in the fossil fuel industry include oil companies such as BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips, Peabody Energy, and Arch Coal.[3] The United States government plays a role in policy making in favor of these companies to sustain the production of fossil fuels and cover up the damage they do to the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a stakeholder due to the reports needed annually on the impacts of carbon emissions, human health, and toxicity reports.[8] Lastly, the general public are all stakeholders due to the severe impacts fossil fuel production have on their daily lives and futures, whether it is the way they get to work or the cause of their poor health.

Barriers and systematic causes[edit]

Biased pluralism within the industry is the main reason fossil fuel production resides over converting to sustainable energy production. There are many barriers prohibiting fossil fuels production to transition to clean energy production. These include the fossil fuel lobby, elite stakeholders, employees in the fossil fuel industry who depend on their jobs for stability. According to the U.S. Department of Energy and Employment report in 2016, over half of the jobs in the energy field were fossil fuel involved, meaning coal, oil, and natural gas.[9] Individuals with these jobs are often more hesitant to convert to sustainable energy because they depend on their jobs in the fossil fuel industry to make a living.

Another significant barrier is due to companies such as ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Shell, Arch Coal, Peabody Energy, CONSOL Energy, and ConocoPhillips affiliating with associations that deter the public from seeing the truth about climate change, block factual evidence about climate change, fund groups that spread false information about the climate crisis, and obstruct action against climate change.[3]

Oil Wars, Global Warming, Climate Wars

Environmental Impacts[edit]

The fossil fuel industry knows the damage it causes to the climate, and has known how severe it is for over forty years. Climate change deception has been occurring in these companies for decades, resulting in the decline in health of the earth and its resident population.[10] [11]

Fossil fuel companies received information from their own scientists projecting the future for their industry. In this projection, fossil fuels had an extreme impact on the atmosphere, and were estimated to increase the global average temperature by 3.2 degrees Celsius by 2080. CO2 emissions are also projected to double their density in the earth's atmosphere.[12][13]

ExxonMobil is currently being investigated concerning the level of deception that occurred surrounding climate health and how much impact the company has really had on occurrences such as sea-level and temperature rise. Getting cities ready for the possibility of sea-level rise will cost billions of dollars, and that number will only increase on a global scale.[14]

Two thirds of greenhouse gas emissions since the start of the industrial revolution can be linked to only ninety different organizations, and eighty-three of them are from the fossil fuel industry. The remaining seven organizations produced cement.[15]

Natural disasters due to climate change have impacted many, such as Hurricane Sandy, the California wildfires, and others. Fossil fuel companies are to blame for the increase in emissions, sea-level increases, and irregularities causing the disasters.[16]

"Separate Oil and State" sign held at a climate march in 2017

Future Actions[edit]

Actions proposed by organizations asking fossil fuel companies to take responsibility for their actions[edit]

Fossil fuel phase-out, which means the gradual decrease in use of fossil fuels until energy is completely sustainable.[17]

For companies to practice honesty with consumers and to provide disclosure statements revealing the impacts of their actions.[16]

Stopping the spread of false information by ceasing to affiliate with organizations spreading false news.[16]

Funding climate action to repair damages to the climate and impacted communities.[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Fossil fuel", Wikipedia, 2021-04-15, retrieved 2021-04-24
  2. ↑ "Pluralism (political theory)", Wikipedia, 2021-01-06, retrieved 2021-04-24
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Climate Accountability Scorecard | Union of Concerned Scientists". www.ucsusa.org. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Big Oil", Wikipedia, 2021-01-26, retrieved 2021-04-24
  5. ↑ "Seven Sisters (oil companies)", Wikipedia, 2021-02-23, retrieved 2021-04-24
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Why Haven't Fossil Fuel Companies Adjusted Their Business Models?". Union of Concerned Scientists. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  7. ↑ "How do fossil fuel companies have so much power?". Grist. 2020-01-02. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  8. ↑ Birdsall, Ian A.; Ellisor, Parisa P. (2016), Manos, Ronny; Drori, Israel, eds., "Corporate Social Responsibility and Stakeholders in the Oil Industry: A Relationship Analysis", Corporate Responsibility: Social Action, Institutions and Governance, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 228–254, doi:10.1057/9781137450722_11, ISBN 978-1-137-45072-2, retrieved 2021-04-24
  9. ↑ "Fossil Has More than 50% of Energy Industry Jobs yet Renewables Drive Future". ScottMadden. 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  10. ↑ "Holding Major Fossil Fuel Companies Accountable | Union of Concerned Scientists". www.ucsusa.org. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  11. ↑ Banerjee, Neela (2015-12-22). "Exxon's Oil Industry Peers Knew About Climate Dangers in the 1970s, Too". Inside Climate News. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  12. ↑ "Exxon Predicted 2019's Ominous CO2 Milestone in 1982". Earther. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  13. ↑ Banerjee, Neela (2015-12-22). "Exxon's Oil Industry Peers Knew About Climate Dangers in the 1970s, Too". Inside Climate News. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  14. ↑ "Tracing Who's Responsible for Temperature Increase and Sea Level Rise | Union of Concerned Scientists". www.ucsusa.org. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  15. ↑ "Largest Producers of Industrial Carbon Emissions | Union of Concerned Scientists". www.ucsusa.org. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "Who's Responsible for Climate Damages? | Union of Concerned Scientists". www.ucsusa.org. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  17. ↑ "Fossil fuel phase-out", Wikipedia, 2021-04-20, retrieved 2021-04-24

External links[edit]



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