How is the oil industry responding to climate change? This research examines the responses of European-based and US-based oil companies—specifically, Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Exxon Mobil—to the climate issue, revealing striking differences in their strategies. The analysis identifies the national political contexts of their home-base countries as a major explanatory factor. The study demonstrates that political context significantly influences corporate climate strategies. The divergent approaches of Shell and Exxon Mobil underscore the importance of considering external factors when analyzing corporate responses to environmental challenges. These findings suggest that changes in oil companies' climate strategies are more likely to arise from shifts in the political landscape than from internal dynamics within the companies themselves. The research emphasizes the role of the political environment.
Published in _Global Environmental Politics_, this paper squarely addresses the journal's focus on the intersection of politics and environmental issues. The research examines the contrasting responses of oil companies to climate change based on political contexts, making the study suitable for this journal.