Two liberal groups hope to gain momentum for ending taxpayer backing of fossil fuel production by making a very strong allegation.
“Here at Exxon, we hate your children,” states a fake Exxon official in a new ad from the groups Oil Change International and The Other 98%. “We all know the climate crisis will rip their world apart, but we don’t care, because it is making us rich.”
They’re raising money to buy TV time for the 30-second video.
As the mock executive speaks, viewers see images of extreme weather, such as violent storms and wildfires, that experts say that climate change will intensify.
The ad buy is slated to begin next week, but the locations and scope will depend on the online fundraising campaign, said Steve Kretzmann, the executive director of Oil Change International.
His group is backing legislation that would strip billions of dollars of tax deductions, royalty incentives, and federal fossil fuel research programs.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) offered the legislation but it has not been brought up in committees or on the floor of either chamber.
The lawmakers say the bill would save an estimated $113 billion over 10 years.
But oil-and-gas companies are pushing back against various Democratic-led efforts to strip the industry’s ability to claim various deductions, such as a lucrative deduction on domestic manufacturing income.
The industry has been highly successful in recent years at defeating proposals to nix its tax incentives.
For more on the ad, click here.
