ExxonMobil and climate change denial
Suzanne Goldenberg from The Guardian investigates a recently discovered e-mail from Exxon’s former in-house climate expert, Lenny Bernstein, unveiling the truth behind ExxonMobil’s years of climate change denial (“Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years,” The Guardian, 8 July 2015).
The email from Exxon’s in-house climate expert provides evidence the company was aware of the connection between fossil fuels and climate change, and the potential for carbon-cutting regulations that could hurt its bottom line, over a generation ago – factoring that knowledge into its decision about an enormous gas field in south-east Asia. The field, off the coast of Indonesia, would have been the single largest source of global warming pollution at the time.
After years of denying the dangers of climate change and contributing more than $30 million to think tanks and researchers vested in its denial, Exxon now says it recognizes the risk of climate change and does not currently fund such groups.
Read the full article and email here: “Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years,” (The Guardian, 8 July 2015)
Image credit: David Horsey, Los Angeles Times