Exxon Mobil Lobbyists Admit to Aggressively Fighting Science to Influence Climate Policy
Revealing the continued efforts of oil companies to profit at any cost
The West Coast of Canada and the United States is on fire. I am not speaking figuratively. Last week, the temperature in Lytton, British Columbia reached a scorching high of 49.5° Celsius. Now, it has evacuated its citizens due to raging wildfires. Yet, our governments have been slow in taking any effective actions.
Politicians still debate the veracity of climate change. All this despite the overwhelming evidence provided by climate science. In the past few years, several reports detailing the public relations strategies of large oil companies have emerged. Despite knowing about the realities of climate change, these companies spun the facts and the narrative in pursuit of profit.
Undercover reports recently spoke with Washington lobbyists employed by Exxon Mobil. If you have trouble figuring out which big evil company Exxon Mobil is, they’re the ones that knew about climate change 40 years ago and spread misinformation anyways.
The lobbyists revealed a plot to undermine the Biden administration while using the carbon tax as a public relations ploy. In the video, one lobbyist admits that Exxon worked with political shadow groups. Undercover reporters posed as recruitment consultants to interview senior Exxon staff for interviews.
“Did we aggressively fight against some of the science? Yes. Did we join some of these shadow groups to work against some of the early efforts? Yes that’s true. But there’s nothing illegal about that. We were looking out for our investments, we were looking out for shareholders.”
Exxon Makes the Case for Shareholders Over the Environment
The first lobbyist in the hot seat is Keith McCoy, senior director of Exxon’s Washington government affairs team. In May, he said on video that a carbon tax is a talking point or PR ploy.
“Nobody is going to propose a tax on all Americans, and the cynical side of me says, yeah, we kind of know that — but it gives us a talking point that we can say, well, what is ExxonMobil for? Well, we’re for a carbon tax.”
Next, McCoy discussed how Exxon fought science.
“Did we aggressively fight against some of the science? Yes. Did we join some of these shadow groups to work against some of the early efforts? Yes that’s true. But there’s nothing illegal about that. We were looking out for our investments, we were looking out for shareholders.”
He did however deny that Exxon covered up evidence from their own scientists. This of course is already documented elsewhere. Later in the interview, he mentioned Exxon is concerned about Biden’s infrastructure and environmental plans. Trump-era tax cuts likely brought billions for Exxon.
While they lobbied the new government to keep the tax cuts in place, they also lobbied for government funding.
“So it’s a delicate balance. We’re asking for help with taxes over here and we’re saying don’t increase our taxes over here.”
McCoy targeted Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Chris Coons in particular to influence the infrastructure bill.
According to a former White House lobbyist during the Trump administration, Dan Easley, Exxon is worried about upcoming environmental measures which would accelerate a transition to renewable energy.
Takeaways
The damage being done to our environment by gas and oil companies is undeniable. The companies themselves have been running PR campaigns for decades to influence public opinion. Reporters from Unearthed got some of the lobbyists on video admitting their tactics. Due to election finance laws in the United States, companies like Exxon still hold a large influence in politics.
They admit to fighting the science. They admit to prioritizing profit over accountability. And they worked with shadow groups to influence infrastructure bills and policy. It’s time we hold them accountable.
