Climate Change and the Fuel of Denial

Explore climate science, political funding, disclosed financial interests and government decisions. Dated records distinguish observed changes from modeled future effects.

Financial interests and climate policy

Trump’s disclosures show investments in oil producers, pipelines and drilling suppliers. His administration’s policies affect those businesses and future emissions. Ownership, government action, modeled climate effects and personal returns are separate parts of the evidence.

Projected emissions and warming

EPA’s analysis projects higher annual power plant carbon dioxide emissions under the partial repeal than under the standards being repealed.

Public climate information

EDGI documented removal, redirection or loss of updates for federal climate resources, including screening tools and the USGCRP portal.

NASA monitoring

A 2025 proposal to end funding for OCO-2 and OCO-3 was followed by August 2026 agreements for Caltech to operate the missions and data systems. NASA says both continue collecting data.

Industry climate messaging

An April 2024 congressional staff report described differences between public climate commitments and private planning or lobbying at Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell and industry associations.

NASA’s scientific assessment

NASA’s scientific assessment identifies human activities as the principal cause of recent warming.

Copernicus annual temperature figures

Copernicus ranks 2025 third in ERA5, at 1.47°C above 1850–1900, compared with 1.60°C for 2024.

Follow the funding links

Brulle’s study maps 5,299 grants totaling $558 million from 140 foundations to 91 organizations during 2003–2010. The recipients carried out multiple activities.

January 2015 Senate votes

The Senate held separate votes in January 2015 on acknowledging climate change and on acknowledging its human causes. The roll calls record the amendment wording and each senator’s vote.

The findings of the CRU inquiry

The parliamentary CRU inquiry reported that it had not found systematic scientific deception in the evidence it examined. It also criticized disclosure practices.

Funding records: 2023–2024

The comparison uses 2023–2024 FEC committee summaries and transaction records retrieved September 12, 2026. The selected committees include oil-company PACs, API PAC, First Solar PAC, ACP CLEANPOWER PAC, NextEra Energy PAC, environmental super PACs and Senate Leadership Fund. Each table identifies its reporting period and financial measure.

Company and trade-association PACs

During 2023–2024, Chevron Employees PAC reported $1,514,146.50 in disbursements, ExxonMobil PAC $1,019,635 and ConocoPhillips SPIRIT PAC $470,175. First Solar PAC reported $164,512 and ACP CLEANPOWER PAC $469,575.55. NextEra Energy PAC reported $2,480,485.19. NextEra’s business includes renewable generation, gas and other utility operations. The table compares these selected company and trade-association PACs over the same two years.

Selected company and trade-association PACs · USD · January 2023–December 2024
Committee / scopeReceiptsAll disbursementsContributions to other committees
ExxonMobil PAC — Oil company PAC$1,049,798.11$1,019,635$763,250
Chevron Employees PAC — Oil company PAC$1,481,006.54$1,514,146.50$1,063,500
ConocoPhillips SPIRIT PAC — Oil company PAC$457,651.64$470,175$355,000
API PAC — Oil/gas trade-association PAC$348,411.82$352,887.95$348,000
First Solar PAC — Solar company PAC$145,499.92$164,512$159,500
ACP CLEANPOWER PAC — Clean-energy trade-association PAC$487,929.41$469,575.55$403,800
NextEra Energy PAC — Mixed utility / renewable and gas interests$2,470,057.25$2,480,485.19$1,828,000

Advocacy and super-PAC spending

LCV Victory Fund reported $84,289,736.28 in disbursements, including $46,685,018.06 in independent expenditures. EDF Action Votes reported $19,061,705.69 and $10,871,401.77 respectively. Climate Power Action reported $10,389,906.13 in disbursements and zero in its own independent-expenditure field, alongside the transfers listed below. Senate Leadership Fund is a multipurpose Republican super PAC. The table shows each committee’s full reported activity.

Selected super PACs · USD · January 2023–December 2024
CommitteeReceiptsAll disbursementsIndependent expenditures
LCV Victory Fund$84,323,632.42$84,289,736.28$46,685,018.06
Climate Power Action$10,408,979.71$10,389,906.13$0
EDF Action Votes$19,347,890.90$19,061,705.69$10,871,401.77
Senate Leadership Fund$298,859,706.60$296,600,299.09$211,093,032.88

Both parties receive funding: a defined candidate-cash subset

The table sums non-memo type-24K cash records dated in 2023–2024, including negative adjustments, joined by candidate ID to the FEC cycle master. Republican, Democratic, Independent and unmatched entries are shown. FEC bulk amounts are whole dollars. Party affiliation comes from the cycle-master snapshot. Party-committee transfers, other PAC transfers, in-kind contributions and independent expenditures appear in their respective channels.

Candidate cash subset · net USD · transaction dates in 2023–2024
PACRepublicanDemocraticIndependentUnmatched / other
ExxonMobil PAC$356,250$143,500$2,500$8,500
Chevron Employees PAC$934,000$95,500$2,500$18,500
ConocoPhillips SPIRIT PAC$247,000$52,000$0$0
API PAC$236,000$89,500$0$0
First Solar PAC$47,500$36,000$0$0
ACP CLEANPOWER PAC$128,000$90,500$5,000$0
NextEra Energy PAC$324,500$209,000$4,500$7,500

Recorded payer-to-recipient routes

FEC recipient filings record $4.5 million from Chevron Corporation and $3.5 million from the American Petroleum Institute at Senate Leadership Fund during 2023–2024. LCV Inc. contributed $48.675 million to LCV Victory Fund. The selected onward transfers include $120,000 from Climate Power Action to LCV Victory Fund. Each route below lists one payer, one recipient and its recorded amount. A transfer is recorded at both ends of the same flow.

Selected routes · 2023–2024 · no grand total
FromToReported amountChannel
API PACTed Cruz campaign (R)$10,000PAC cash to candidate committee
ExxonMobil PACLizzie Fletcher campaign (D)$10,000PAC cash to candidate committee
API PACLizzie Fletcher campaign (D)$6,000PAC cash to candidate committee
Chevron Employees PACLizzie Fletcher campaign (D)$10,000PAC cash to candidate committee
ConocoPhillips SPIRIT PACLizzie Fletcher campaign (D)$5,000PAC cash to candidate committee
First Solar PACJason Smith campaign (R)$6,000PAC cash to candidate committee
First Solar PACSherrod Brown campaign (D)$10,000PAC cash to candidate committee
ACP CLEANPOWER PACJohn Curtis House campaign (R)$7,500PAC cash to candidate committee
Chevron CorporationSenate Leadership Fund$4,500,000Organization/corporation receipt reported by super PAC
American Petroleum InstituteSenate Leadership Fund$3,500,000Organization/corporation receipt reported by super PAC
League of Conservation Voters, Inc.LCV Victory Fund$48,675,000Organization/corporation receipt reported by super PAC
LCV Victory FundFF PAC$14,660,000Committee-to-committee transfer
Climate Power ActionFF PAC$9,940,000Committee-to-committee transfer
Climate Power ActionLCV Victory Fund$120,000Committee-to-committee transfer
First Solar PACSenate Majority PAC$15,000Committee-to-committee transfer
First Solar PACDSCC$10,000Committee-to-committee transfer
ACP CLEANPOWER PACNRSC$30,000Committee-to-committee transfer
ACP CLEANPOWER PACDCCC$30,000Committee-to-committee transfer

Campaign payments and dated climate statements

API PAC contributed $5,000 to Ted Cruz’s committee on November 10, 2023 and $5,000 on September 19, 2024. In a December 8, 2015 hearing statement, Cruz asserted that satellite data showed no significant warming for 18 years. The same FEC scan records oil PAC contributions to Lizzie Fletcher’s committee. Her February 27, 2019 opening statement recognized climate change and primarily human causation. The campaign transactions and public statements retain their respective dates and sources.

Heartland’s account of Exxon funding

Heartland acknowledged Exxon support during 1998–2006 in its July 23, 2021 response. It described contributions of about $50,000 and a share below 5% of its annual budget. Heartland also stated that Exxon’s support did not fund its later NIPCC publications and conferences. Its publications challenge mainstream climate assessments. The earlier Brulle funding study and NASA’s scientific evidence remain linked separately.

Trump’s disclosed purchases and sales

Donald Trump’s annual disclosure covers reporting year 2025 and was received by OGE on June 29, 2026. The selected entries below record purchases and sales of securities in energy producers, pipeline companies and an oilfield-services company. Amounts retain the filing’s dollar bands. Page, investment-account and row references identify each entry.

Selected 2025 transactions · annual filing received June 29, 2026
IssuerAction / dateReported bandPage / account / row
Chevronpurchase · 2025-08-18$500,001–$1,000,000368 / 6 / 1600
Exxon Mobilpurchase · 2025-10-15$15,001–$50,000265 / 5 / 69
Kinder Morganpurchase · 2025-04-17$1,001–$15,000275 / 5 / 377
Williams Companiespurchase · 2025-04-17$1,001–$15,000275 / 5 / 388
Halliburtonpurchase · 2025-10-10$1,001–$15,000176 / 1 / 529
ConocoPhillipssale · 2025-12-23$1,001–$15,000314 / 5 / 1586
Williams Companiessale · 2025-12-23$1,001–$15,000314 / 5 / 1584

Reported oil-related holdings

The JEC Minority’s August 2026 paper reports an overall oil/gas holding range of about $12.5 million–$45.6 million. Its nine issuer rows reproduced below sum to $10,110,067–$39,155,000; the paper also names additional companies. The table reproduces the staff’s issuer estimates, with the source attribution and disclosed bounds retained.

JEC Minority issuer-level estimates · 2025 holdings · attributed analysis
IssuerLower disclosed boundUpper disclosed bound
Exxon Mobil$3,180,009$12,450,000
Chevron$2,595,010$11,350,000
Occidental Petroleum$1,017,004$5,083,000
Kinder Morgan$1,169,008$5,461,000
ConocoPhillips$647,008$1,430,000
Valero Energy$348,008$795,000
Phillips 66$383,007$896,000
Marathon Petroleum$353,006$745,000
Williams Companies$418,007$945,000

What 31,400 MBOE means

31,400 million barrels of oil equivalent means about 31.4 billion barrels of combined oil-equivalent energy. In the East Greenland table, oil alone is 8,902.13 million barrels, about 8.9 billion; gas is about 86.2 trillion cubic feet, and natural-gas liquids about 8.1 billion barrels. These are mean undiscovered conventional resources. The 2019 geological account says Jameson Land and its subvolcanic extension were not quantitatively assessed in this regional total.

Greenland petroleum-system studies

The Hareelv study examines source rocks from a 233.8-metre cored succession at Blokelv-1 in Jameson Land. The GEUS seep inventory records natural hydrocarbon occurrences and their geological context. A separate USGS West Greenland–East Canada assessment, published in 2025, estimates 7.8 billion barrels of undiscovered oil across that shared province.

Minerals and dated strategic statements

GEUS identifies 24 of the EU’s 34 critical raw materials in Greenland. Its review covers rare-earth minerals, graphite, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc, titanium, vanadium and other commodities. About 80% of Greenland is ice-covered. On January 7, 2025, Trump declined to rule out military force over Greenland. At Davos on January 21, 2026, he said he would not use force, while stating a national-security interest.

Greenland project agreements and corporate roles

Greenland Energy describes an agreement to fund two exploration wells and earn up to a 70% interest in the Jameson Land project. Its account identifies 80 Mile and subsidiary White Flame as licence owners and Halliburton as a contractor. September 2026 documents announce indicative merger terms between Greenland Energy and 80 Mile, subject to conditions. The Guardian reported an August 2026 drilling delay.

Disclosed holdings and the filed consulting contract

Trump’s 2025 disclosure lists Halliburton in investment account 1, row 216, at $15,001–$50,000, with dividends of $201–$1,000. It separately lists purchases on October 10, October 29 and December 17, 2025, each at $1,001–$15,000. Halliburton Energy Services and March GL signed a consulting agreement on April 11, 2025. Greenland Energy’s Q1 2026 filing identifies March GL as a wholly owned subsidiary after the March 25 corporate combination.

Equipment, permission and drilling plans

Greenland’s July 30 notice names White Flame Energy as the licence holder responsible for moving equipment to Nerlerit Inaat without the required approval. A former approval had expired. The government issued a formal warning and allowed the equipment to remain in agreed airport storage. On August 12, it said the required assessments and consultation could not be completed for winter 2026/2027. Greenland Energy’s SEC-filed response describes a targeted winter-2027 permitting timeline.

Energy holdings by account and reported income

The table records all 49 matching Part 6 entries for these six issuers in Trump’s 2025 annual disclosure. Each entry retains its account label, row number, printed page, value category and reported income. The filing was received June 29, 2026.

2025 annual disclosure · Part 6 · six researched issuers
IssuerAccount / rowValue bandIncome bandPrinted page
Chevron1 / 125$100,001 - $250,000None (or less than $201)10
Exxon Mobil1 / 190$250,001 - $500,000None (or less than $201)11
Halliburton1 / 216$15,001 - $50,000DIVIDEND $201 - $1,00012
Kinder Morgan1 / 252None (or less than $1,001)DIVIDEND $201 - $1,00013
Chevron2 / 37$15,001 - $50,000None (or less than $201)18
ConocoPhillips2 / 47$15,001 - $50,000None (or less than $201)18
Exxon Mobil2 / 69$50,001 - $100,000None (or less than $201)19
Kinder Morgan2 / 95$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)19
Chevron3 / 118$50,001 - $100,000Dividend $201 - $1,00024
ConocoPhillips3 / 132$15,001 - $50,000None (or less than $201)24
Exxon Mobil3 / 178$100,001 - $250,000Dividend $1,001 - $2,50026
Kinder Morgan3 / 230$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)27
Williams Companies3 / 381$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)31
ConocoPhillips4 / 57$15,001 - $50,000Dividend $1,001 - $2,50032
Chevron4 / 198$100,001 - $250,000Dividend $2,501 - $5,00036
Chevron4 / 199$50,001 - $100,000Dividend $2,501 - $5,00036
Exxon Mobil4 / 239$250,001 - $500,000Dividend $2,501 - $5,00037
Halliburton4 / 582$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)45
Kinder Morgan5 / 457$15,001 - $50,000Dividend $201 - $1,00057
Williams Companies5 / 531$15,001 - $50,000Dividend $201 - $1,00059
Williams Companies5 / 701$100,001 - $250,000Dividend $5,001 - $15,00063
Halliburton6 / 22None (or less than $1,001)None (or less than $201)69
Kinder Morgan6 / 272$100,001 - $250,000Dividend $2,501 - $5,00075
ConocoPhillips6 / 277$250,001 - $500,000Dividend $2,501 - $5,00075
Williams Companies6 / 338$250,001 - $500,000Dividend $5,001 - $15,00076
Chevron6 / 378$1,000,001 - $5,000,000Dividend $15,001 - $50,00077
Exxon Mobil6 / 379$1,000,001 - $5,000,000Dividend $15,001 - $50,00077
Halliburton7 / 64$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)81
Chevron7 / 474$250,001 - $500,000None (or less than $201)91
ConocoPhillips7 / 537$100,001 - $250,000Dividend $1,001 - $2,50092
Exxon Mobil7 / 905$1,000,001 - $5,000,000Dividend $15,001 - $50,000101
Exxon Mobil7 / 975$500,001 - $1,000,000Dividend $2,501 - $5,000103
Kinder Morgan7 / 1018$50,001 - $100,000Dividend $201 - $1,000104
ConocoPhillips7 / 1166$250,001 - $500,000Dividend $5,001 - $15,000108
Williams Companies7 / 1244$50,001 - $100,000None (or less than $201)109
Kinder Morgan7 / 1313$1,000,001 - $5,000,000Dividend $5,001 - $15,000111
Chevron7 / 1373$1,000,001 - $5,000,000Dividend $5,001 - $15,000113
Halliburton8 / 565$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)128
Kinder Morgan8 / 584$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)129
Williams Companies8 / 740$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)133
Williams Companies8 / 761$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)133
ConocoPhillips8 / 772$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)133
Kinder Morgan8 / 795$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)134
ConocoPhillips8 / 796$1,001 - $15,000None (or less than $201)134
Chevron8 / 883$15,001 - $50,000Dividend $201 - $1,000136
Chevron8 / 888$15,001 - $50,000Dividend $201 - $1,000136
Exxon Mobil8 / 894$15,001 - $50,000Dividend $201 - $1,000136
Exxon Mobil8 / 895$15,001 - $50,000Dividend $1,001 - $2,500136
Halliburton8 / 1273None (or less than $1,001)None (or less than $201)146

Purchases and sales during 2025

The six-issuer extraction contains 251 transaction entries in Part 7. Purchase and sale columns sum the lower and upper bounds of the disclosed transactions. They describe transaction amounts; acquisition cost for positions still held, dividends and realized gains are separate disclosure measures.

2025 transactions · sums of disclosed bands
IssuerPurchases / salesPurchase amountsSale amounts
Chevron48 / 12$1,596,048–$4,140,000$600,012–$1,475,000
Exxon Mobil51 / 10$2,441,051–$5,740,000$164,010–$460,000
Halliburton9 / 4$86,009–$290,000$81,004–$215,000
Kinder Morgan25 / 9$243,025–$870,000$100,009–$325,000
Williams Companies20 / 13$367,020–$1,030,000$252,013–$705,000
ConocoPhillips37 / 13$1,081,037–$2,590,000$452,013–$1,105,000

People, Places and Supporting Records

Sources and Records

  1. Donald Trump annual financial disclosure for reporting year 2025
  2. NASA explanation of the causes of climate change
  3. DOE extends Golden Pass LNG export deadline
  4. EPA repeal of vehicle greenhouse gas standards
  5. EPA power plant repeal and separate proposal
  6. EPA estimate of power plant repeal impacts
  7. NASA explanation of climate impacts
  8. Federal climate website changes and archive comparisons
  9. Archived NOAA Climate gov maps and data
  10. NOAA Climate Data Online
  11. Proposed closure of NASA carbon monitoring missions
  12. NASA and Caltech continue OCO missions
  13. Denial Disinformation and Doublespeak
  14. NASA: Evidence
  15. NASA: Scientific consensus
  16. Copernicus: 2025 was the third hottest year on record
  17. Drexel: Brulle funding study, 2003–2010
  18. Senate roll call 10, Whitehouse amendment 29
  19. UK Parliament: CRU inquiry summary
  20. FEC: 2023–2024 committee summary data
  21. FEC: committee summary field definitions
  22. NextEra Energy: company overview
  23. First Solar: company overview
  24. American Clean Power Association: represented industries
  25. FEC: 2023–2024 committee-to-candidate records
  26. FEC: 2024 candidate master and party codes
  27. FEC: transaction type definitions
  28. FEC: 2023–2024 committee transaction records
  29. FEC filing image 202402039619675022
  30. FEC filing image 202407159659839425
  31. FEC filing image 202407159659819710
  32. FEC filing image 202410159687740153
  33. FEC filing image 202402039619675030
  34. FEC filing image 202407159659839420
  35. FEC filing image 202407159659839430
  36. FEC filing image 202410159687740154
  37. FEC filing image 202302179578666530
  38. FEC filing image 202309209597246630
  39. FEC filing image 202401319601006233
  40. FEC filing image 202406209649401532
  41. FEC filing image 202411269720050916
  42. FEC filing image 202408209666653806
  43. FEC filing image 202409209684211650
  44. FEC filing image 202410209700747199
  45. FEC filing image 202410249713454995
  46. FEC filing image 202602119834308411
  47. Ted Cruz: December 8, 2015 climate hearing statement
  48. Lizzie Fletcher: February 27, 2019 climate hearing opening statement
  49. Heartland’s response about Exxon funding, July 23, 2021
  50. Climate Change Reconsidered II: Biological Impacts
  51. JEC Minority: August 2026 oil-stock analysis, table on page 2
  52. USGS: East Greenland Rift Basins, 2007 assessment
  53. USGS: Circum-Arctic appraisal, Fact Sheet 2008-3049, table 1
  54. USGS: East Greenland geology and assessment, 2019
  55. GEUS Bulletin: Hareelv Formation petroleum geochemistry, 2018
  56. GEUS Bulletin: Greenland petroleum seep inventory, 2021
  57. USGS: West Greenland–East Canada, 2023 assessment published July 9, 2025
  58. GEUS: Review of critical raw-material resource potential in Greenland, MiMa 2023/1
  59. GEUS: Mineral resources in Greenland, overview
  60. TIME: Trump declines to rule out force, January 7, 2025
  61. Trump Davos speech transcript, January 21, 2026
  62. Greenland Energy: Jameson Land agreement, contractor and licence structure
  63. 80 Mile / Greenland Energy: September 2026 possible merger announcement
  64. The Guardian, August 12, 2026: Greenland drilling delay
  65. OGE: Trump annual financial disclosure for 2025, received June 29, 2026
  66. Halliburton Energy Services–March GL consulting agreement, April 11, 2025
  67. Greenland Energy: Q1 2026 Form 10-Q, completed corporate combination
  68. Government of Greenland: 80 Mile camp moved to Nerlerit Inaat, July 30, 2026
  69. Government of Greenland: assessment of drilling timetable, August 12, 2026
  70. Greenland Energy: permitting update, August 11, 2026, SEC exhibit

AI generated report by Explorvia.com.