Why Esso's [ExxonMobil's] Claims on Climate Change are False

1. Esso's Claim - Esso does not deny the link between fossil fuels and climate change.

Reality: Esso has denied the link between fossil fuels and climate change for over ten years but tries to hide this in Europe where its views are unpopular. But the company's head office policy is clear. In its policy on climate change, dated May 2000, it said: "science is not now able to confirm that fossil fuel use has led to any significant global warming".

While this has now been removed from the website, in June 2002 ExxonMobil chair Lee Raymond said: "Now we in ExxonMobil do not believe that the science required to establish this linkage between fossil fuels and warming has been demonstrated - and many scientists agree."

But the scientists do not agree with him and ExxonMobil's actions confirm its policy: in September 2001, the world's leading climate experts, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) met in London to agree its latest report on climate change. The IPCC's draft final report contains the following line: "The Earth's climate system has demonstrably changed on both global and regional scales since the pre-industrial era, with some of these changes attributable to human activities". Esso lobbied to amend the text by deleting "with some of these changes attributable to human activities". The IPCC rejected the amendment. Not only has the IPCC considerably strengthened its opinion that the recent warming is mostly due to human activities, it links this increase principally to the burning of fossil fuels.

2. Esso's Claim - Esso has no influence over President Bush and its contributions to his election campaign were minimal:

Reality: The facts speak for themselves: Esso's contributions to the Republican Party in the 2000 election cycle totalled over $1 million, more than any other oil company. This came on top of years of funding multimillion-dollar anti-Kyoto advertising campaigns. In 1999 Esso's lobbying budget, at $11.7 million, was the fifth highest in the USA, beaten only by US pharmaceutical and tobacco giants. Esso has also led front groups such as the Global Climate Coalition, specifically set up to undermine the UN negotiations on climate on behalf of the fossil fuel industry.

The result is that Esso's words come out of Bush's mouth. Having intensely lobbied Bush to ditch the treaty, which he did in March 2001, Esso then took out adverts describing Kyoto as "fundamentally flawed" and "fatally politicised". Two months later Bush described it as "fatally flawed in fundamental ways". If Esso has no influence over Bush or politicians, why has it bothered giving politicians millions of dollars over the last ten years?

Esso claims that it isn't even among the top 150 US contributors to the Republicans, but the other companies in that list do not have the same interest in stopping action on global warming as the world's largest oil company. Esso rates the highest contributor amongst the oil and gas industry .

3. Esso's Claim - Esso's anti-Kyoto lobbying has always been "open and honest"

Reality: "Arrogant and deceitful" is a better description of Esso's approach than "open and honest". Since May 2001, in response to the boycott, Esso has written to thousands of people stating "we do not deny a link between fossil fuels and climate change". But in September it asked the IPCC to delete a sentence that linked the two (see No.1 above).

The "Decade of Dirty Tricks"(PDF 174k) report by Greenpeace cites 25 of the tricks Esso has used to sabotage Kyoto over the past ten years. One of the most illuminating is Esso's promotion of a widely discredited petition by "17,000 scientists" to dismiss the scientific consensus on global warming. The petition's organisers attempted to mislead the signatories that the petition had the backing of the respected National Academy of Sciences, which it didn't. Some of the supposed "scientists" on the petition included characters from the TV show M*A*S*H and one of the Spice Girls.

Esso has also funded and heavily promoted "climate sceptic" pseudo scientists to try to undermine the scientific consensus on global warming. These were most recently seen coming out in droves to oppose the Bush administration report on climate change in June 2002.

4. Esso's Claim - The StopEsso coalition (Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and People & Planet) are trying to suppress opposing views in the climate debate:

Reality: The idea that anyone could suppress the views of the world's largest company is ridiculous. Esso spends over US$10 million a year on lobbying alone. Greenpeace has repeatedly asked Esso to discuss the issue of climate change, an invite that Esso has consistently refused. The StopEsso Coalition is open to public debate and is happy to debate climate change with Esso at any time.

5. Esso's Claim - The Kyoto Protocol will impose significant economic costs and excludes developing countries:

Reality: The Kyoto Protocol is a crucial and significant first step towards tackling global warming. It includes developing countries and will not impose significant costs. Esso wants it scrapped because it threatens its profits from fossil fuels.

The Kyoto Protocol allows developing countries some increases in emissions in the short term, and more time to bring them under control. In the negotiations leading up to the Protocol, all countries, including the US, accepted that the industrialised countries - responsible for the vast majority of the emissions over the last 200 years - would take the lead in reducing emissions. The US, with four per cent of the world's population and 24% of global CO2 emissions, is exemplary of the need to address industrialised countries' emissions first.

The Kyoto Protocol will not be an economic burden: the IPCC states that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced below year 2000 levels in 10 to 20 years at "zero net costs" using existing technology. This is borne out by a recent report , which showed that since 1997, China has reduced its C02 emissions by 17 percent, while US emissions jumped by 14 percent. In the same period, China's economy grew four times faster than the US. However, if current warming trends persist the insurance industry predicts that annual losses from natural disasters could come close to $150 billion by the end of the decade.

6. Esso's Claim - Esso is taking action on climate change now, developing cleaner fuels, fuel cell vehicles and improving energy efficiency:

Reality: Since Esso denies the link between fossil fuels and climate change, it's not surprising that its "solutions" - ranging from "cleaner fuels" to tree planting - will not reduce carbon dioxide emissions. "Cleaner Fuels" such as unleaded petrol and low-sulphur diesel reduce some airborne pollutants, but do not tackle global warming. Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are the future - but only if the power to make the hydrogen comes from renewable energy. No surprises then that Esso's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles still run on petrol and are the least efficient of all the different hydrogen fuel cell options. Every company would expect to be energy efficient - it saves money. But this doesn't explain Esso's opposition to Kyoto. The fastest route to significant global improvements in energy efficiency will be through a binding Kyoto Protocol

7. Esso's Claim - Esso invested in renewable energy in the 1970's and 80's and found it unprofitable:

Reality: Like the mobile telephone industry, the renewable energy industry today bears no resemblance to what it was in the 70's and 80's. In countries like Germany, Denmark and Spain the wind industry is growing as fast as the telecommunications industry. Furthermore, members of Congress publicly accused the company at the time of deliberately misleading members and the public regarding the costs and potential for renewable energy.

Renewable energy - wind, wave and solar power - could supply all the world's energy needs. The technology is available and prices are falling fast. Denmark has led the world in showing that there are no technological or economic barriers to renewable energy that can not be overcome. Denmark already gets ten per cent of its electricity from wind power, and plans to increase this to 50% by 2030.

If a company of Esso's size - the world's biggest - were to shift significant investment from fossil fuels to renewable energy it would help slash the costs of renewable energy still further. But for Esso there is only oil, coal and gas. It dismisses "non-petroleum sources of energy" as merely "fashionable".

8. Esso's Claim - Esso is not alone - the vast majority of US politicians and businesses oppose Kyoto:

Reality: There are clearly strong feelings about Kyoto in the US, but opinion is divided. A recent US public opinion poll, conducted by the New York Times/CBS after the US administration had rejected the Kyoto Protocol, found that three out of four people said immediate action was needed to tackle global warming. Furthermore, more than half of those surveyed, said that the United States should abide by the agreement, even if it meant that China and India would not have to follow the same standards.

Esso's claim that other US businesses and US politicians also oppose Kyoto is self-fulfilling. Esso has led the campaign for US opposition to Kyoto, and has been successful in influencing politicians, industry and the US public. We have singled out Esso not just because it opposes Kyoto, but because it has undertaken a multimillion-dollar, ten-year campaign of dirty tricks (PDF 174K) - targeted in the US - to prevent international action on global warming.

Furthermore, it is clear that many of the US trade associations that Esso claims "back" its position are in fact being led by Esso. One of the most anti-Kyoto of these, the US Council for International Business (USCIB) wrote to President Bush - apparently on behalf of all its members - supporting his climbdown from the Kyoto Protocol. Esso is widely credited with drafting the USCIB letter. However, a Greenpeace survey showed that a sample of its major member companies were not consulted and/or did not agree with the content. For example, British Telecom North America said: "We belong to this organisation for reasons of trade relations and were not consulted on the Kyoto statement. It therefore does not reflect our views. "

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