Internal files add to evidence of an Exxon Mobil climate deception campaign. Court filings reveal new details about Exxon’s decades of internal climate deliberations. In June 1988, NASA climatologist James Hansen warned Congress about warming, and weeks later Exxon’s Frank Sprow warned colleagues that a worldwide consensus on greenhouse‑gas action could bring substantial negative impacts on Exxon. That memo, part of a batch of undisclosed documents released in the Massachusetts lawsuit, shows early internal awareness of climate risks.
The newly disclosed files also contain more recent statements from Exxon scientists challenging the company’s claims about biofuels and carbon capture and storage. These documents line up with hundreds of confidential files previously exposed by Inside Climate News and other sources, offering fresh insight into internal deliberations from the 1980s through the 2010s. The release coincides with a pivotal moment for the oil industry, as the US Supreme Court heard arguments from Exxon and Suncor Energy seeking to halt a Boulder, Colorado lawsuit that could affect dozens of similar claims.
Aaron Regunberg, director of climate accountability at Public Citizen, said the Massachusetts filings underscore why oil companies fight to block discovery: “They are really scared of the public finding out about this reality.” Most lawsuits argue that oil companies should help pay the escalating costs of climate‑fueled extreme weather, which have topped $100 billion in the US in four of the last five years. Exxon reported nearly $19 billion in earnings over the first six months of this year, while denying any misleading of the public or investors about climate change.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing