Climate Advocacy and the Politics of National Oil Companies

Evolving shareholder, consumer and reputational pressures have begun to influence the emissions approaches of some international oil companies (IOCs). The decisions of most national oil companies (NOCs), by contrast, have been driven by domestic political pressures: they serve the national interest, the political interest of the regime in power, or both. Conversely though, NOCs also influence their governments, creating a chicken-and-egg question: can governments drive NOCs on climate issues, or can NOCs drive governments? Given this very different set of incentives and influences, the pathway for constructive dialogue between NOCs and climate advocates will be different from the pathways of IOCs.

This session focused on drivers and opportunities for transforming NOCs across different types of political contexts, including the potential roles of investor and partner pressure, diplomatic initiatives and environmental advocacy groups.

Featuring:

• Alexandra Gillies (@acgillies), Natural Resource Governance Institute
• Paasha Mahdavi, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Lourdes Melgar, Baker Institute for Public Policy
• Laurie van der Burg, Oil Change International
• Chido Muzondo, International Institute for Sustainable Development