<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/outgunned-five-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-spent-553000-on-meta-ads-in-august-the-renewables-industry-just-3090/>
"Fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists in Australia are spending
significant sums of money on advertising on social media, completely
overwhelming the paltry efforts of the renewable energy industry, which is
leaving community groups and NGOs to use their limited resources to push the
case for the green energy transition and climate action.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Messenger and the Twitter-like
Threads, now publishes a report showing which organisations are spending what
on “social issues, elections or politics”, albeit only since August 2020 and
excluding any spending it deems outside that category.
The data shows few renewable energy companies, network and organisations spent
anything on advertising that Meta deemed political in the 90 days to August 28.
In August, Australian Energy Producers, the Minerals Council of Australia,
Shell, and Farmers Fightback spent a total of almost $553,000 on political
advertising, the Meta ad library shows. In contrast, the renewables energy
industry spend just a tiny fraction of that amount, less than one per cent.
Greenpeace Australia was the only top 20 spender in the Meta’ ad library report
on issues-specific ads to put money into pro-renewable energy ads, allocating
almost $18,000 of its total budget for August on the social media giant to this
issue.
Tom Quinn, the managing director of research and advisory group Springmount
Advisory, says the lack of a visible ad presence on social media from the
renewables industry is an abject failure.
“Clean energy has taken social licence for granted for too long and relied [too
much] on NGOs to do [marketing for them],” Quinn told
Renew Economy.
“But this
is the work. It has an obligation to genuinely engage and partner
with communities of big infrastructure.”
Belinda Noble, founder of climate communications groups Comms Declare says the
fossil fuel sector realised years ago that social licence was one of its
biggest business threats and began advertising “relentlessly.”
One example is the $48.45 million it spent on advertising just in the first
quarter of 2026 to fight a tax on gas exports and perpetuate the story that the
economy needs fossil fuels.
“My opinion is that the relatively small investment in communication by the
renewables sector and government is leaving information gaps that are all too
easily filled with misinformation, resulting in community backlash and
political opportunism that is undermining the clean energy transition,” Noble
told
Renew Economy."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
