Ryan Lance

Climate Change Denial Business Ryan Lance

Since 2012, Ryan Lance has been the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ConocoPhillips. Lance is a “former chairman of the American Petroleum Institute currently serving on its Executive Committee, and currently chairs the National Petroleum Council’s Agenda Committee.” He is a board member of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and on the advisory council at the University of Texas Energy Institute.

Climate change:

Until 2013, ConocoPhillips was a significant contributor to the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is “an important conduit for climate science disinformation and policy proposals designed to block climate action.” In the 2020 election cycle, ConocoPhillips donated over $1 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and Super PACS to fund climate denialist Republicans, like Donald Trump. They influence environmental legislation by encouraging “its employees and others to attend the rallies and stoke up pressure on senators.”

The Union of Concerned Scientists has noted that ConocoPhillips has used language to “misrepresent climate science by stating that increased concentrations of global warming emissions in the atmosphere “can lead” (rather than “are leading”) to adverse climate effects, emphasizing uncertainties, and talking about “managing” (rather than “reducing”) emissions.” Their statements on climate science dismisses climate research and IPCC reports, inaccurately represents data, and claims that it is sufficient for their company to manage, rather than reduce, emissions.

Their carbon emission reduction targets undervalue renewable energy and have declined to take responsibility for the effect of their product on climate change. They focus on decreasing emissions per barrel, but ignore their total emissions.

Alaska:

Ryan Lance defends ConocoPhillips projects in Alaska and deflects responsibility for their contributions to climate change. He stated, “I think you’ll see what we’ve done has been responsible and done with the environment in mind.” Lance has denied climate change in Alaska stating, “Alaska is not a snow globe, right? Some people want to just shake it up and put it up on their shelf, and say ‘Ooh, that’s a pretty thing up there.”