Despite publicly acknowledging the harmful effects of burning fossil fuel and its contribution to climate change in 2006, behind closed doors ExxonMobil was engaged in attempts to diminish public concerns and even obfuscate scientific findings that might negatively impact the oil and gas industry and the company’s bottom line.
This is according to an article published yesterday in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) – Inside Exxon’s Strategy to Downplay Climate Change – which pointed to internal documents that show what the oil giant said publicly was very different from how it approached the issue privately in the Rex Tillerson – former ExxonMobil President-turned US Secretary of State – era.
The WSJ claims will be of interest to regulators and civil society in Guyana as they seek to ensure that ExxonMobil complies with the terms of its various agreements and its outlook as it relates to climate change.