Valerie Volcovici and Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters). A Congressional hearing on whether oil companies mislead the public regarding climate change this week marks the beginning of a wider probe. The investigation could also include other industries such as advertising or social media.

The sweeping nature of the Democrat-led investigation reflects rising urgency within the party to address global warming as Republicans and moderate Democrats block climate provisions at the heart of President Joe Biden’s spending bill, and as global leaders prepare to meet on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland next month.

In an interview with Reuters, Representative Ro Khanna (a progressive Democrat) stated that the investigation would last a full year and that the hearings are the start of it. They should admit to American citizens what they did.

The top executives of Exxon Mobil America: Corp (NYSE :), BP Chevron Shell (LON) Oil (NYSE:) Corp and Shell (NYSE:) Oil along with the lobby groups American Petroleum Institute (Chamber of Commerce) will both testify at the House oversight hearing.

Democratic legislators have stated that they plan to replicate the House’s Big Tobacco investigation of 1990s, which lasted many months. It eventually found that evidence was hidden by companies that cigarettes were addictive and dangerous.

Khanna said Thursday’s hearing would focus on the energy industry’s denial for decades that their products played a leading role in fueling climate change, and on whether the companies’ current claims of supporting climate action were real.

He said the committee would also eventually turn to the oil industry’s use of advertising and social media platforms and seek testimony from executives in those companies too.

CEOs of social media agencies like Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: Twitter Inc Congress is already examining the role of the NYSE: in spreading fake news, and how it affects the health of youth who use social media.

Exxon Mobil’s Darren Woods is the CEO of Exxon Mobil, BP America’s David Lawler and Chevron America’s Michael Wirth will testify. Shell Oil President Gretchen Watkins also agreed to participate in the virtual hearing. American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers will testify, as well as Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark.

They all denied intentionally misleading the public regarding climate change.

BIG OIL’S STATEGY

Sources familiar with oil industry pre-hearing arrangements said that companies wanted to use hearings to emphasize recent climate mitigation efforts through investments in renewables.

Source said that the executives would also be expected to speak out about the rising prices of gasoline due to global energy shortages and claim that more energy is needed to replace fossil fuels.

Carolyn Maloney was the Chair of the committee and asked for documentation from the executive level, dating back to the 1970s. This included information about who funded climate campaigns by which companies or groups and the advice that they had received from internal scientists.

Khanna claimed that the committee was not happy about the volume of documents received so far and that this could result in subpoenas. He stated that he was willing to employ any means to obtain more documents.

He said the documents received so far included some from a former Exxon lobbyist, Keith McCoy, who was secretly recorded https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lobbying-exxon-climate-idCAKCN2E62TJ by environmental group Greenpeace, saying the company’s support of a carbon tax was a ruse to appear progressive on climate change since the company believed the idea would never become law.

Exxon has said McCoy’s statements were an inaccurate depiction of the company’s position. McCoy didn’t immediately reply to our request for comment.

This hearing, which will be held on Thursday, is likely to highlight an important strategic gap between the U.S. and European energy companies regarding climate change. European firms like BP, Shell and Chevron are moving quicker into clean energy than the U.S-based Exxon or Chevron.

J.P. Fielder of BP America stated, “I feel it’s a chance for a firm like BP, to show that they are committed toward a net-zero goal by 2050.” Shell’s Watkins stated that meeting demand for reliable energy and addressing climate change “is an enormous undertaking” and is one of the most important challenges facing our times.

Exxon spokesperson Casey Norton said the company had made “substantial investments in next-generation technologies” and “advocates for responsible climate-related policies.”

Chevron did not comment.