American Petroleum Institute Drafts Secret Climate Denial Strategy Document

In April 1998, the American Petroleum Institute (API) convened a secret meeting of oil industry executives and public relations consultants to draft the “Global Climate Science Communications Plan.” The leaked document reveals a coordinated strategy to manufacture doubt about climate science, making it a defining example of corporate disinformation campaigns.

The plan’s stated goal was explicitly to prevent regulatory action: “Victory will be achieved when average citizens understand (recognize) uncertainties in climate science… [and] recognition of uncertainties becomes part of the ‘conventional wisdom.’” The strategy aimed to make climate science appear unsettled despite overwhelming scientific consensus.

Key elements of the plan included recruiting scientists willing to challenge mainstream climate research, training them in media communications, placing their arguments in major publications, and developing “ichthyological” (fishing for) sympathetic journalists. The document outlined a $5 million multi-year budget for these activities.

Participating organizations included ExxonMobil, Chevron, Southern Company, and the Global Climate Coalition. They planned to fund the George C. Marshall Institute and other think tanks to produce seemingly independent critiques of climate science. The campaign specifically targeted “ichthyological” reporters who could be cultivated to provide favorable coverage.

When the document was leaked to the New York Times in 1998, it briefly embarrassed the industry. However, the strategy proceeded largely as planned through other channels. Exxon alone would spend over $30 million funding climate denial organizations over the next decade. The plan’s tactics, including manufacturing scientific uncertainty, attacking climate scientists personally, and creating the appearance of scientific debate, would be deployed for another two decades.

The API document proved that the fossil fuel industry knew climate change was real and deliberately chose to deceive the public to protect profits, creating potential legal liability that would inform later climate lawsuits against oil companies.