Read the latest insights and analysis from the experts at Oil Change International.
As people head home for the Christmas vacation to be with their loved ones, spare a thought for the one thousand or so water protectors that are braving bitterly freezing cold temperatures and blizzards in North Dakota to continue what has become the iconic protest of 2016 against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Later today, the 538 members of the Electoral College will meet to determine who will be the next President of the US.
In the post-truth reality of a post-Trump election victory, one thing is blindingly obvious: Rather than draining the swamp as he repeatedly promised, Trump is going to fill it will his climate-denying cronies, many of whom are very rich privileged, predominantly white men, who are either intricate to the oil industry or have links to Big Oil.
Rex Tillerson’s efforts to paint a picture of moderation amount to nothing more than a ruthless public relations campaign to curry favor in the media. Meanwhile he has pursued a reckless path of continued oil and gas development in order to continue making as much money as possible for himself and his company, regardless of the consequences.
When sanctions were placed on Russia, Exxon left behind the potential to produce billions of barrels of oil. Secretary of State appointee Rex Tillerson could be in a position to secure that prize for Exxon.
The news from over the weekend that President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Rex Tillerson, the chairman and chief executive of Exxon, the world’s largest private oil company as Secretary of State, is a clear sign that we face an unprecedented battle against the environmental movement in the years to come.
The news this week that President-elect Trump had met ex-Vice President Al Gore to discuss climate change had some of the mainstream media speculating that this might mean that the climate denying, oil-loving, conspiracy-peddling President-to-be might be changing his view on global warming.
Over the last few months, as the news of the Standing Rock protests have spread across the globe, people have realised that the protest was never just about a pipeline, it was always about so, so much more. It was about the right to protect clean air and water; it was the right to protect ancient burial sites; it was the right to fight for a future for our children and grand-children. It was a belief that we can live in a world without oil. But it was also a battle against oppression and colonisation against First Nations that has being going on for centuries and where the wounds run old, raw and deep.
The long struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline is not over by a long shot, but last night the First Nations at Standing Rock celebrated a hugely significant and hard fought victory after the Army Corps announced it would not be granting the easement for the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe.
In the end, Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, for all his suave talk of being a new progressive politician, who would era in a new type of politics, turned out disappointingly to be like all the rest. His suit is cut from the same old cloth.
