Montréal/Tiohtià:ke | Traditional, unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk Nation, a gathering place for many First Nations, including the Anishinaabeg – While the Pathways Alliance and other major oil and gas companies in Canada have gone quiet in response to the federal government’s new anti-greenwashing rules, Environmental Defence is using this time to set the record straight.
Today, we released a new video that corrects misinformation presented in one of the Pathways Alliance’s original greenwashing video ads. The Pathways Alliance’s multi-million dollar “Let’s Clear the Air” ad campaign, which began in 2022, is currently being investigated by the Competition Bureau for greenwashing. Our video, Clean Pathway to Future, acknowledges the Canadian public’s concerns about climate change and affordability, highlights how the fossil fuel industry is making climate change worse, and debunks carbon capture and storage for the trojan horse of continued oil and gas production that it is.
The video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1yWLIkDqCw
“The Pathways Alliance represents some of Canada’s worst climate villains – the companies most responsible for climate pollution in Canada and the people most responsible for delaying climate action,” says Emilia Belliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager at Environmental Defence. “Pathways has already paid to spread its misleading message to millions of people, but it’s important we try to reach the same audience with the truth. These fossil fuel companies continue to fuel destructive climate change, and their rebranding campaign does not change that fact.”
Background Information
- In 2022, the recently formed Pathways Alliance, a consortium of six major oil sands producers in Canada, began spending millions of dollars on a fossil fuel industry rebranding campaign called “Let’s Clear the Air.” It included massive ads that wrapped public transit, images on billboards, bus shelters, in news media, video ads on commercial flights and YouTube, and even TV ads during major sporting events like the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup.
- Environmental Defence supported a complaint about Pathways Alliance’s misleading ads submitted by Greenpeace to the Competition Bureau of Canada, the agency responsible for regulating false advertising. The Competition Bureau is currently investigating.
- Evidence of Pathways Alliance greenwashing is extensive. Academic researchers who investigated the group’s advertising and activity published their findings of greenwashing in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Research and Social Science. InfluenceMap, an independent international think-tank, also published a report on lobbying and advocacy by Pathways Alliance and its member companies. It found that Pathways Alliance had worked to weaken, block, and delay climate policy.
- In June 2024 the federal government updated The Competition Act through amendments to bill C-59. The new rules strengthened the Competition Bureau’s tools for reigning in corporate greenwashing, which has been an increasing problem. The new rules require companies to have proof for their environmental claims. Following the passage of C-59, the Pathways Alliance and other fossil fuel companies and associations removed content about climate action from their websites and advertisements.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
