The American oil company ExxonMobil has known since the 1970s that the use of fossil fuels leads to global warming. However, the company has repeatedly tried to cast doubt on the harmful effects on the climate. Scientists write this in the popular scientific journal Sciences.
ExxonMobil has developed climate models for the years 1977 through 2003, which are fairly consistent with similar studies by governments and universities. The new study also shows that ExxonMobil’s numbers are suspiciously similar to the warming observed over the same period.
“Our research highlights new data from older documents,” said lead author Jeffrey Soprane. The scientist, who studies environmental science and politics at the University of Miami, maintains that behind the scenes, the oil company was in fact a pioneer in the field of climate science.
A study published in 2015 detailed how ExxonMobil researchers studied climate change in the 1970s and 1980s. But at that time it was not yet known that the research of the oil company itself was so accurate.
The results could have significant legal consequences. Even Patrick Parenteau, professor emeritus of law at Vermont Graduate School of Law, calls the revelation a blast. ExxonMobil and other oil companies have been accused for years of misleading investors and the public about climate change issues. This study shows that ExxonMobil already knew how harmful fossil fuels could be.
The oil company has it De Volkskrant He denied that ExxonMobil had the knowledge all along. “Those who say Exxon knew are wrong,” said a spokesperson.