The fossil fuel industry: Fueling doubt and navigating contradiction

Companies involved in the extraction and processing of fossil fuels are among the largest and most consolidated in the world, with commercial interests in direct opposition to the scientific consensus on the harms associated with climate change. Yet, with few exceptions, research on the corporate political activity of fossil fuel companies is much more limited compared to that of other harmful products. The future of climate change will depend on the extent to which society and science can accurately perceive the conflicts of interest, strategies, and tactics of fossil fuel companies in research, policy, and public discourse and be guided accordingly. This represents in some ways the sentinel challenge of research in the commercial determinants of health, with a great deal of research and scholarship remaining to be done.