Proof The Fossil Fuel Industry Uses Cultural Sponsorships To Block Climate Action
In the fall of 2017, the American Petroleum Institute (API) sponsored a workshop for Pennsylvania Girl Scouts, featuring “activities that mimicked work in the energy industry.” Each scout left with a “coveted patch and a greater understanding of natural gas and oil,” API’s CEO Jack Gerard reported in an “Executive Update” email — one of the API member companies that co-funded the event.
What America’s most powerful oil lobby likely did not tell the Girl Scouts, however, was that API had hosted the seminar as part of its mission to cultivate “nontraditional local allies,” described by Gerard as some of the “best and most influential voices with targeted policymakers on industry issues.”