Did it ever cross your mind that Exxon might be telling a fib or two when it claims it's deeply concerned about climate change? Well, it's true.
Last week, Greenpeace UK's investigative arm published a story about remarks by the lobbyist, Keith McCoy, Exxon's Senior Director of Federal Relations, that were recorded in May during a Zoom call made to one or more reporters who were posing as recruitment consultants.
McCoy said that to scale back President Joe Biden's infrastructure package, ExxonMobil cast doubt on the scientific consensus about the climate crisis and targeted centrist lawmakers like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)—"I talk to his office every week," the lobbyist claimed.
McCoy also says, "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. You know, we were looking out for our investments; we were looking out for our shareholders."
McCoy was in California during the call. California is an all-party state, meaning that it was illegal to record the call without obtaining McCoy's consent in advance. We're guessing that the Greenpeace investigators were relying on British law to protect them from legal problems.
A savvy company usually ignores such publicity, which then dies of lack of reach. But Exxon's CEO responded to the story in the Houston Chronicle. Houston is Exxon's home town, after all.
“(The) comments are entirely inconsistent with our commitment to the environment, transparency and what our employees and management team have worked toward since I became CEO four years ago,” Darren Woods said on Friday.
He continued, “Exxon Mobil’s position is clear: We want to be part of the solution while responsibly providing affordable energy required to power the economy. We have the experience, capabilities, capacity and commitment to help meet this critical need.”
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Exxon-CEO-reiterates-climate-policy-after-16289867.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HC_AfternoonReport&utm_term=news&utm_content=headlines&sid=5dc30632fc942d1f403e32c0&fbclid=IwAR14ARow3MUEBbMVvDGLG2IsIV0npLMsZn6tXA312vES-q-EXThxm7Geyi0
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bombshell-lobbyist-video-reveals-exxon-s-secret-campaign-to-water-down-u-s-climate-legislation/ar-AALGX3q?fbclid=IwAR23WTiLjDcATXSpBj4EGnkvrYeC6Gwr5daL-iFmpP9Z9TntM7Sgefa68SQ
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