His name is “Fossi”. He is depicted as a swirl of gray smoke. And he tends to lose his temper quickly when his classmates blame him for the climate crisis.
Fossi is the main character Our Hidden Power: The Big Switcha children’s book released last week by Swedish clean energy company Baseload Capital. The company invests in and manages geothermal projects in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and Iceland that harness the earth’s heat to generate electricity.
As Fossi tentatively steps into the classroom as a new student, he is rejected by his peers, each representing a different form of clean energy. No one wants to sit next to stinky, smoky fuels that are causing global warming and “disease.”
“You wanted to travel the world, build, and light the world,” Fossi exclaims in frustration. “And I helped you. Our fossil fuels gave you heat, cars, lights, factories. Now you say it’s all my fault?”
But Fossi gradually wins the admiration of his classmates when he offers to use his “rich experience” to plan the transition to cleaner energy sources and solve climate change.
“In a way, I am a hero too,” Fossi thinks to himself at the end of the story.
For Christina Hagström Ilievska, the book’s author and chief marketing officer at Baseload Capital, Fossi’s sympathetic portrayal is an attempt to explain energy transitions in a way her son can understand. “Modern society is built on fossil energy. It’s just a starting point. The story from there is not about defending the status quo, but about the need for change and progress,” Ilievska told Desmog.
But some readers have wondered why the final scene depicts Fosci teaming up and befriending characters representing solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and bioenergy, a useful image for oil and gas companies that need young allies to remain a socially acceptable part of the economy.
In fact, critics say, the fossil fuel industry has never been proactive about clean energy or being a true friend to the planet. lobbying activities For decades, it has opposed policies aimed at supporting renewable energy or regulating oil, gas and coal production.
“This book is correct in many ways, but the idea that fossil fuels are the ‘new’ kids that deserve sympathy is almost laughable,” says Lindsey Gulden, a former climate and data scientist at ExxonMobil. was fired He returned in 2020 after reporting internal allegations of fraudulent overvaluations of the company’s assets in Texas and New Mexico. “Fossil fuel companies are working hard to keep their seats at the table and delay a strong energy transition.”
Strong power relationships dominated by vested interests in controlling and benefiting from existing technologies are a major barrier to the energy transition. concluded It is expected to be approved by the United Nations climate change agency, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in 2023.
Neither the book nor the press release mentions that Baseload Capital is jointly owned by oil and gas producer Chevron and fossil fuel service provider Baker Hughes. These partnerships are listed on the Baseload Capital website.
Chevron and Baker Hughes promotion Even though the majority of our business is still based on fossil fuels, our investment in Baseload Capital is an example of our commitment to clean energy and reducing our climate impact.
Chevron plans to increase oil and gas production by up to 3% annually through 2030, the company said. announced At Investor Day in November.
Ilievska said the book is “an educational story, not a corporate product” and that Chevron, Baker Hughes and other investors were not involved in the book. “We share the same end goal as many others. [climate campaigners]”It’s a rapid transition away from fossil fuels, and we think that part of how we get there is a better understanding,” Ilievska said.
But campaigners and industry experts warned that the Fossi story seemed to mirror the fossil fuel industry. story By downplaying the industry’s role in blocking climate action, portraying it as a passionate player in the energy transition and confronting its image as a “bad guy,” in the words of a leaked ad. Briefing session Excavated by British oil giants BP and Drilled.
“I want to be part of the solution and make a difference,” Fossi said at one stage.
“If this book were a truer metaphor, we would end up in a school where the majority of kids would be called ‘fossi’. They’d already been there for a long time, probably already been teachers, sitting at the podium… because it’s fossil fuels that maintain the status quo,” said Gustav Mertner, creative director of Greenpeace Nordix, who previously worked for 17 years in corporate advertising and marketing.
“There’s no doubt that we need to create children’s books about climate change, but it’s troubling that between the lines the proposed solution is clearly about stopping blaming the fossil fuel industry,” Mertner added.
“Blaming doesn’t help anyone,” Ilievska said. “We know they did wrong and we have their perspective on what we did wrong. But we need to find common ground moving forward.”
Baseload Capital CEO Alexander Herring said A press release for the book states that its message, which includes “showing how geothermal energy can leverage the knowledge, skills and experience of the fossil fuel sector,” is targeted not only at children but also at investors and policy makers.
Ilievska said Baseload Capital is partnering with oil and gas companies to [the fossil fuel industry] Thanks to their drilling expertise and financial strength, they can help accelerate the growth of geothermal energy.
Our Hidden Power: The Big Switch Baseload Capital is the second book I have published in collaboration with Mondial, a publisher that also sells books by prominent Swedish cultural figures and journalists.
The first time was in 2023 to teach children about the potential of geothermal energy as a clean, renewable fuel. There was no character named “Fossi” in this book.
Chevron and Baker Hughes did not respond to DeSmog’s requests for comment.
“Non-traditional allies”
The fossil fuel industry has a long history of targeting children and young people with messages.
The American Petroleum Institute, the nation’s largest oil and gas lobby, sponsored a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) workshop with Girl Scouts in 2017, but the Girl Scouts were considered a “nontraditional local ally,” according to internal documents released in a 2024 U.S. Congressional investigation. analyzed Written by Desmog. The same set of documents shows that BP invested millions of dollars in STEM programs throughout the 2010s to “protect BP’s reputation,” and the program continues today.
Internal marketing documents obtained by DeSmog suggest that as awareness of the climate crisis grows, the fossil industry increasingly views this audience as critical to its survival.
In 2017, Norwegian state-owned oil company Equinor (then known as Statoil) and its advertising agency TRY said that “more and more people are questioning Statoil’s corporate social responsibility, sustainability, innovation and attractiveness as an employer” and that “this is especially true for younger generations.”
“The voices of young people are taking a more prominent place in the energy and climate debate, and those who seem young today will be tomorrow’s decision makers, thought leaders and opinion formers,” the document says. “Therefore, it was clear that we needed to become more relevant for the next generation, because the future of Statoil depends on:” The Young”
April 2025, Desmog revealed Equinor was sponsoring temporary science classes on the Scottish islands at the same time it was seeking approval to develop a nearby oil field called Rosebank..
Equinor also created a video game called “.“Energy Town” Aimed at school children in the UK. According to a web page created by the game’s designers, first reported by Norwegian outlet E24, “Energy Town” aimed to “help build a future talent pipeline and secure operating permits during a fossil fuel sensitive period, especially in light of the development of Rosebank.”
Shell’s Australian gas and coal subsidiary paid US$7 million to fund a children’s education program at the Queensland Museum that does not explicitly identify fossil fuels as the main cause of climate change, desmog. investigation I found one published in December.
The industry is also turning to social media influencers to connect with younger generations.
According to DeSmog, influencers posted hundreds of times about oil and gas companies around the world from 2017 to 2023. Found. An influencer’s partnership with oil giant Shell made people in their 20s “31 percent more likely” to believe the oil company was “committed to cleaner fuels,” according to a case study compiled by the company’s PR agency. edelman.
Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras announced it has hired a “team of influencers whose language targets Gen Z.” press release In June 2025, we announced the “Just Energy Transition” campaign. squad Among them was nature content creator Milly Viologando, who created a video for her 500,000 followers about her visit to Petrobras’ algae fuel laboratory.
“Fossi” may have been the brainchild of a clean energy company hoping to someday have his back. But even as scientists sound the alarm on the climate crisis louder than ever, the broader fossil fuel industry is still turning its favor to the generation it needs to survive. They are also the generation that will feel the effects of climate change the most.
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