In 2015, investigative journalists uncovered evidence that Exxon executives had known as early as the late 1970s that burning fossil fuels would raise global temperatures and that by the 1980s the oil giant knew that the continued use of their products could have "potentially catastrophic" effects.
In 2023, Harvard researchers published a new report revealing that Exxon predicted the exact amount of global warming we're now experiencing with remarkable accuracy. Subsequent reporting revealed that the oil and gas industry likely knew about these risks as early as the 1950s.
Instead of warning the public, Exxon internally decided to publicly "emphasizethe uncertainty" of climate science—masterminding a campaign of denial, disinformation, and deception to delay climate action and protect their profits.
Exxon and their Big Oil buddies spend millions of dollars on advertising and public relations campaigns designed to make us think they care about the climate crisis even as they continue to make it worse.
Just as Big Tobacco was held accountable for deceiving the public about its dangerous products, cities and states are now suing Exxon and other oil companies for their campaigns of climate deception and the escalating damages communities face as a result.
Members of Congress have investigated Big Oil's climate coverup and unearthed new evidence of industry deception, with more to come.
Photo credit: Johnny Silvercloud/Flickr