Above, former Chair of Exxon Rex Tillerson in 2011, responding to a question from activist David Fenton.
“We’ll adapt.” he says. “Climate models are unreliable.”
“The consequences are manageable.” he says.
We know Exxon does good science on climate – they have just kept the results of their work a secret until a few years ago. Exxon scientists made forecasts of climate warming in the 1970s and 80s that are now being born out as very accurate today – so Mr Tillerson’s protests that climate models are unreliable and inaccurate was dishonest, as evidenced by the work of the company’s own staff.
Now that science team has some new numbers. The impact of the current conflict in the Middle East is not factored in. – which I believe pretty much negates the findings (see elsewhere on this page).
Nevertheless, worth knowing that these bastards persist in not giving a damn about their own children, much less yours.
Vote accordingly.
Exxon estimates coal will account for 15% of the world’s energy mix by 2050, down from 25% in 2025, but up by one percentage point from the company’s previous projection. That is because coal is still a significant energy source in China and other countries in Asia and is considered key for energy security, said Prasanna Joshi, Exxon’s director of economics and energy, at a briefing.
Exxon’s outlook, which provides the basis for its investment decisions, does not account for the Middle East conflict because it is too early to determine the full ramifications, Joshi said.
Below, Exxon’s early ’80s projections for global temperature were identical to those of mainstream and US government researchers, with whom they often interacted and shared data.
In retrospect, they are stunningly accurate.
A trove of internal documents and research papers has previously established that Exxon knew of the dangers of global heating from at least the 1970s, with other oil industry bodies knowing of the risk even earlier, from around the 1950s. They forcefully and successfully mobilized against the science to stymie any action to reduce fossil fuel use.