Profiting from or fighting climate change? A case study of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative

Abstract: Following recent developments in multilateral cooperation, literature on global climate governance has paid increasing attention to non-state actors. Contributing to this debate, this study focuses on a new group of businesses that aim to combat climate change, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI). Within the context of sustainable development, the OGCI must balance profit-making with protecting the environment. The striking contrast between the OGCI’s objectives has inspired a case study approach to it. In the study, a relationship between the organization’s actions, structure and context is conceptualized. The complementary theories of liberal environmentalism, climate clubs, and transnational governance are used for the analysis. Statements from OGCI’s representatives, as well as OGCI publications were analyzed using the selected theories and thematic coding. The resulting findings point to the organization being constrained by a lack of enabling policies and the need to make profits. This contributes to the academic debate about private climate governance and uncovers future directions for research.