The man who could help big oil derail America’s climate fight

Phil Goldberg, a self-described committed environmentalist', has a powerful strategy to shield the largest oil companies in America

In the spring of 2019, Phil Goldberg, a lawyer and hired gun for a front organisation serving some of America's most powerful oil firms, spotted an opportunity to serve his masters.

The University of Hawaii was holding a conference about a wave of lawsuits against the oil industry, and Goldberg was alarmed the event failed to include representatives from the energy business. So the day before the symposium, he fired off an email to the university demanding that big oil be heard alongside its critics.