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House Democrats are poised to question the executives of some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies – Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Shell – over allegations that the industry is spreading disinformation about the role fossil fuels play in global warming and derailing action on climate change. .

The hearings will be the first time that oil executives will be pressured to answer questions under oath about whether their companies are misleading the public about the reality of climate change by obscuring the scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels raises Earth’s temperature and sea levels. with devastating consequences Worldwide, including severe storms, worsening drought and more deadly wildfires.

“Today, the CEOs of the world’s largest oil companies face a tough choice,” said Ro Khanna, a California Democrat representative at the center of efforts to bring executives before a congressional committee, in prepared statements seen by The. New York Times.

“You can either come clean, accept your past misrepresentations and ongoing inconsistencies, and stop supporting climate disinformation,” he said. Or you can sit here in front of the American people and lie under oath.

Industry executives defend their evolving statements on climate science and support global action on climate, including the Paris agreement – ​​the agreement to tackle climate change and reduce carbon dioxide emissions – and the oil and gas industry will play a critical role in resolving the climate crisis.

According to the prepared statements, Suzanne Clark, President of the US Chamber of Commerce, is expected to say, “Inaction is not an option.”

House Democrats compare investigation Historic tobacco trials of the 1990sClearly revealing that tobacco companies lie about the health hazards of smoking, paving the way for tough nicotine regulations. Just as public health experts are sure that smoking causes cancer, climate scientists are now as confident that burning fossil fuels causes global warming.

Evidence that fossil fuel companies distort and underestimate the realities of climate change. documented by academic researchers.