Story at a glance
- ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said during a House hearing on Thursday that the company had long acknowledged the risks of climate change.
- Woods and other oil executives refused to pledge that their companies would not spend money to undermine climate action.
- House Democrats have accused U.S. oil giants of spreading misinformation regarding climate change.
ExxonMobil’s chief executive on Thursday pushed back against allegations that the oil and gas giant knowingly spread misleading information and concealed evidence about the dangers of climate change.
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods testified at a House hearing that the Texas-based company “has long acknowledged the reality and risks of climate change, and it has devoted significant resources to addressing those risks.”
Woods said Exxon’s public statements on the environment have always been “fact-based” and “consistent” with mainstream climate science.
But House Democrats challenged Woods’ and other oil executives’ testimonies during the hearing and accused them of spreading doubt about fossil fuels’ link to climate change despite scientific evidence to the contrary that has been available since 1977, the Associated Press reported.
“They are obviously lying like the tobacco executives were,″ said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, referring to a 1994 hearing with tobacco executives who testified that they did not believe nicotine to be addictive.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
Woods and other industry leaders, including Shell Oil President Gretchen Watkins and BP America CEO David Lawler, agreed on the existence of climate change, but refused to grant Maloney’s request to pledge that their companies would not spend money to oppose efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Secretly recorded statements from a former Exxon lobbyist landed the company in hot water earlier this year when it was revealed that Exxon had purposefully undermined climate science through “shadow groups” and had targeted influential senators to weaken President Biden’s climate agenda. The ex-lobbyist, Keith McCoy, said Exxon’s public support of a proposed carbon tax was merely a “talking point.”
Woods has since denounced McCoy’s statements and has said the company is committed to finding solutions to climate change.
But Maloney and other House Democrats weren’t convinced of that on Thursday.
“I hope that after 40 years of misleading the public to block climate action, our nation’s oil and gas industry will finally change its behavior and join the many good corporate citizens, community leaders and scientists who are working together to save our planet and our children,” Maloney said.
House Republicans meanwhile accused Democrats of grandstanding as Biden’s domestic policy package, which would devote $1.75 trillion to social services and climate change programs, hangs in the balance.
“The purpose of this hearing is clear: to deliver partisan theater for primetime news,″ Kentucky Rep. James Comer said.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL WHO GOT LAP DANCES FROM STUDENTS UNDER INVESTIGATION
CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT DIVERTED AFTER FLIGHT ATTENDANT ATTACKED MID-AIR
FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN HAPPINESS PROJECT EXPLAINS 3 EASY STEPS TO BEGIN EACH DAY
‘PARKS AND RECREATION’ ACTOR CHARGED WITH VANDALIZING GEORGE FLOYD STATUE
CRIMINAL CHARGES NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION IN FATAL SHOOTING ON MOVIE SET, DA SAYS
changing america copyright.
