Executives privately sought to downplay link between fossil fuels and climate change despite public pronouncements, WSJ reports

Executives privately sought to downplay link between fossil fuels and climate change despite public pronouncements, WSJ reports

ExxonMobil executives privately sought to undermine climate science even after the oil and gas giant publicly acknowledged the link between fossil fuel emissions and climate change, according to previously unreported documents revealed by the Wall Street Journal.

The new revelations are based on previously unreported documents subpoenaed by New York’s attorney general as part of an investigation into the company announced in 2015. They add to a slew of documents that record a decades-long misinformation campaign waged by Exxon, which are cited in a growing number of state and municipal lawsuits against big oil.

Many of the newly released documents date back to the 2006-16 tenure of former chief executive Rex Tillerson, who oversaw a major shift in the company’s climate messaging. In 2006, Exxon publicly accepted that the climate crisis posed risks, and it went on to support the Paris agreement. Yet behind closed doors, the company behaved differently, the documents show.

  • SCB@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    1 year ago

    “But having worked with some of these colleagues earlier in my career, I have the benefit of knowing they are people of good intent,” he said. “None of these old emails and notes matter, though. All that does is that we’re building an entire business dedicated to reducing emissions – both our own and others’ – and spending billions of dollars on solutions that have a real, sustainable impact.”

    This person makes a good point, but they fail to realize that it can also be true that these (often former) executives should still be prosecuted for, at minimum, misleading shareholders.

    “Why not for fucking up the planet?” you might ask. Because lying about global warming is not illegal. Misleading shareholders on the future viability of your company, despite internal documentation stating the opposite of your external public opinions and business actions, is illegal.