Tax records analyzed by the Guardian show that the Shell USA Company Foundation donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to conservative organizations advocating against LGBTQ+ and abortion rights and denying climate change.
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A US non-profit associated with oil giant Shell has sent more than half a million dollars to groups that “broadly share an agenda of building conservative power”, including the foundation behind Project 2025, an investigation by the Guardian has revealed.
Tax records show that the Shell USA Company Foundation sent $544,010 between 2013 and 2022 to several conservative and religious organizations advocating against LGBTQ+ and abortion rights, and denying climate change.
Among the recipients are fourteen groups figuring on the board of Project 2025, a political initiative that promotes conservative and right-wing policies to reshape the US federal government and consolidate Donald Trump’s executive power if he wins the upcoming presidential election. While Trump has distanced himself from the conservative blueprint, it was revealed that more than 100 people who worked for his administration contributed to it.
Project 2025, which has been under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks and is viewed by many as a threat to democracy and the rule of law, was published by the Heritage Foundation, which received multiple donations from Shell’s non-profit totalling $23,321.
A report published earlier this week revealed that enacting the climate policies proposed in Project 2025 would rise emissions by 2.7 billion tonnes by 2030, effectively eliminating any chance for the US to meet its goal of slashing emissions in half by decade’s end.
Among other proposed policies is a plan to strip the federal government of the funds, people, and power to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, including severely limiting the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Supreme Court recently overturned an important doctrine that for decades granted the EPA the power to provide expert opinion on how bills in the US should be interpreted. Environmental NGOs fear that this will allow for biased, non-expert rulings to weaken and prevent critical application of public policy, especially related to environmental protection.
Other organizations including the Heartland Institute, a conservative non-profit think tank known for denying the scientific consensus on climate change, and the American Family Association, a Christian group that openly opposes LGBT rights and expression, pornography, and abortion and claims that “climate change agenda is an attack on God’s creation,” also emerged as donees in the Guardian investigation. They received $5,000 and $59,264, respectively.
London-headquartered Shell is one of the largest oil and gas company in the world, second only to ExxonMobil in terms of revenue. The company reported a net profit of $28 billion in 2023. Together with Exxon, Chevron, BP, and TotalEnergies, Shell is responsible for more than 10% of global carbon emissions generated since 1965.
According to the Guardian, the Shell USA Company Foundation, operated by Shell’s American subsidiary, “helps employees boost their charitable giving to non-profits,” matching them by up to $7,500. A spokesperson told the newspaper that the foundation “does not endorse any organization” and employees donations are “not directed by the company.”
Featured image: Rawpixel.
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