Slaying the Oil Dragon: Strategies and Suggestions against the oil industry

The oil industry plays a central role in driving climate change by being one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The extraction, refinement, and combustion of petroleum products release vast amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄), both potent contributors to global warming. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), fossil fuel combustion accounts for approximately 75% of global CO₂ emissions (IPCC, 2022). Moreover, industry has historically lobbied against climate regulations, funded misinformation campaigns, and delayed the transition to renewable energy. These actions have not only exacerbated environmental degradation but also hindered global climate governance. Oil spills, habitat destruction, and water contamination add further ecological stress, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities. Ultimately, the continued dominance of oil threatens to push planetary systems beyond safe limits, accelerating sea level rise, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss.

Although it is undeniable that there has been some progress, activism towards divestment and reducing the harm that the oil industry does to our planet has had some marked problems. Grassroots movements fail to translate feelings into actionable plans and a lot of demonstrations end up being more poetic than effective.
Some studies point to the consideration that radical shifts towards decarbonization could be much more conflictive than expected, adding more complexity to the matter.

The oil industry is fighting us for its survival, a real transition into an eco-friendly civilization would mean its death or radical transformation and its currently using all available strategies to remain as is.

We are at an important time when the need for humanity’s survival must overcome the need of an industrial empire. We need to be not only aware, but active and effective to cause an impact.

What are you bringing to the table?

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2. Leah Temper et al 2020 Environ. Res. Lett. 15 123004, DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/abc197

3. Corry, O., & Reiner, D. (2020). Protests and Policies: How Radical Social Movement Activists Engage with Climate Policy Dilemmas. Sociology, 55(1), 197-217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520943107 (Original work published 2021)