Doctoral Dissertation Reseach: Transnational Oil Corporations in the Climate Debates

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

In the face of the climate change treaty being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, oil corporations have responded differently. Some have expressed support for the climate change treaty, while most have challenged climate change science and lobbied against mandated carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emission reductions. Understanding this split in business views on the climate debates offers insights into the importance of transnational organizations for international politics, and into the role of non-state actors in negotiating international treaties among governments. Using qualitative data on four oil corporations, and quantitative data on the 50 largest oil corporations, the project thus addresses four questions: 1) what climate strategies have the oil corporations pursued, 2) what factors have accounted for differences in strategies, 3) how have the oil corporations responded to advocacy efforts of environmentalists, and 4) how has the split in the oil industry affected the progress and outcomes of the climate change negotiations?