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After eight months of investigation, InsideClimate News presents this history of Exxon's engagement with the emerging science of climate change. The story spans four decades, and is based on primary sources including internal company files never before seen, interviews with former company employees, and other evidence. It describes how Exxon conducted cutting-edge climate research decades ago and then pivoted to work at the forefront of climate denial, manufacturing doubt about the scientific consensus that its own scientists had confirmed.
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Exxon: The Road Not Taken By Neela Banerjee John H. Cushman, Jr. David Hasemyer and Lisa Song Copyright © 2015 InsideClimate News All rights reserved. ISBN: 1518718671 ISBN-13: 978-1518718670 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1. Exxon's Own Research Confirmed Fossil Fuels' Role in Global Warming Decades Ago 2. Exxon Believed Deep Dive Into Climate Research Would Protect Its Business 3. Exxon Confirmed Global Warming Consensus in 1982 with In-House Climate Models 4. Exxon's Business Ambition Collided with Climate Change Under a Distant Sea 5. Highlighting the Allure of Synfuels, Exxon Played Down the Climate Risks 6. Exxon Sowed Doubt About Climate Science for Decades by Stressing Uncertainty 7. Exxon Made Deep Cuts in Climate Research Budget in the 1980s 8. More Exxon Documents Show How Much It Knew About Climate 35 Years Ago 9. Exxon's Oil Industry Peers Knew About Climate Dangers in the 1970s, Too Appendix I: List of Documents Appendix II: Characters Appendix III: Related Stories Appendix IV: Frontline Videos About the Authors InsideClimate News INTRODUCTION Laura Shaw was 12 years old when she won her seventh-grade science fair at the Solomon Schechter Day School in Cranford, N.J. with a project on the greenhouse effect. It was 1981, and no one at her school was even aware of it. Laura knew about it well because her father was an Exxon scientist, and he had schooled his daughter on the emerging problem that her generation is now inheriting. The company at that time was at the forefront of climate research, long before the general public knew about climate change. This surprising detail is one of many that you’ll find in the following pages, a compilation of the six articles in our groundbreaking investigative series called Exxon: The Road Not Taken, three follow-up stories and supplementary materials. It’s a brief history of Exxon's engagement with the science of climate change. The story spans four decades, and is based on interviews with former company employees, internal company files never before seen and other evidence. It describes how Exxon conducted cutting-edge climate research decades ago and pivoted to the forefront of climate denial, manufacturing doubt about the scientific consensus and the dangers that its own scientists had confirmed. It is a timely, important and troubling account that is already changing the global conversation about climate change. It is raising questions about Exxon’s moral and legal responsibility for the environmental crisis afflicting the entire planet. Our reporters are continuing to cover unfolding events, and you can follow their work on InsideClimate News. These pages provide the essential background reading. David Sassoon, Publisher InsideClimate News 1. EXXON'S OWN RESEARCH CONFIRMED FOSSIL FUELS' ROLE IN GLOBAL WARMING DECADES AGO Top executives were warned of possible catastrophe from greenhouse effect, then led efforts to block solutions. By Neela Banerjee, Lisa Song and David Hasemyer Sept. 21, 2015 At a meeting in Exxon Corporation's headquarters, a senior company scientist named James F. Black addressed an audience of powerful oilmen. Speaking without a text as he flipped through detailed slides, Black delivered a sobering message: carbon dioxide from the world's use of fossil fuels wo