Category Archives: CO2 Research Program

“Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections” Science, January 2023, Supran, Rahmstorf, Oreskes REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

Below are the Exxon internal documents that were footnoted in the paper “Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections” (G. Supran et al., Science 379, eabk0063 (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.abk0063) published January 2023. Coverage of the paper was wide: New York Times, Guardian, Associated Press, Politico, LA Times, NPR, CNN, CNBC… Exxon Internal Document References in the paper […]

2014 Email from Leonard Bernstein to the Institute of Applied and Professional Ethics

An email from Lenny Bernstein, ExxonMobil Chemical Engineer to the Director of the Ohio University Institute of Applied and Professional Ethics that discuses how Exxon was aware of climate change fueled by the fossil fuel industry back in 1981. In his email, Bernstein refers to a giant natural gas field in Indonesia that ExxonMobil did […]

1985 Exxon Presentation on Greenhouse Effect Research and Budget

This is a presentation given by Exxon Research and Engineering Company’s Brian P. Flannery, who became one of Exxon’s primary climate researchers after joining the company in 1980. His initial research for Exxon on the relationship between CO2 and climate change confirmed the results that other scientists were finding at the time, predicting that doubling […]

1984 Exxon Presentation by Henry Shaw on CO2 Greenhouse and Climate Issues

This 1984 document is a presentation by Henry Shaw, a manager with Exxon Research & Engineering’s Technology Feasibility center, regarding “CO2 Greenhouse and Climate Issues.” The presentation is one of many documents from Exxon’s history, demonstrating their active research into and knowledge of anthropogenic climate change and its impacts.  The presentation lists some of the […]

1984 Exxon Report on Climate Modeling and CO2 Effects

February 2, 1984 report from Andrew J. Callegari on Exxon Corporate Research Program to provide Exxon with a source of expertise in an area which could have a major impact on the future business environment, and contribute to a broad scientific investigation of CO2 effects. The Callegari report includes slides on the consensus of climate models […]

1983 Mobil Memo on the Atmospheric Greenhouse Effect

June 1, 1983 Mobil Oil Corporation status report published in the company’s environmental affairs and toxicology department discusses the atmospheric greenhouse effect, and asks the question, “is burning fossil fuels affecting world climate?” The Mobil status report notes that there are some scientists calling for actions to be made soon because of the “extremely long […]

1982 Memo to Exxon Management about CO2 Greenhouse Effect

November 12, 1982 Exxon’s M.B. Glaser, manager of the Environmental Affairs Program, sends a memo to Exxon management on the CO2 greenhouse effect intended for the management staff to familiarize themselves with the subject. Glaser includes the April 1, 1982 “CO2 Greenhouse Effect: Technical Review” report. In Glaser’s summary to management, he writes that the […]

1982 Exxon speech “Inventing the Future: Energy and the CO2 ‘Greenhouse’ Effect”

This is a speech to a 1982 gathering of climate scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory by Dr. E. E. David, Jr., president of the Exxon Research and Engineering Company, regarding the “greenhouse effect,” i.e. climate change, and the importance of scientific research in figuring out how to respond to it – how to “invent […]

1982 Exxon Memo Summarizing Climate Modeling and CO2 Greenhouse Effect Research

September 2, 1982 Exxon’s Roger Cohen sends a memo to Exxon’s Al Natkin summarizing climate modeling research and the CO2 greenhouse effect. Cohen writes that while climate models vary widely and that there has not been a measurable change in the earth’s climate due increasing CO2, over the past several years have a “clear scientific […]