Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) Denies Allegations Related To Climate Change

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has declined recent allegations leveled on it by news organizations. The Los Angeles Times and Inside Climate News had alleged that the company deliberately covered up news of fossil fuel impact on the climate.

In response, the company said the allegations are inaccurate and have deliberately mislead the population. The company’s VP Mr. Ken Cohen said it had identified the potential climatic change risks associated with the burning of fossil fuel, and has taken the issue seriously. He added that activists picked statements of several employees to mislead people into thinking prospective climatic changes were predicted by researchers decades ago.

In a company statement, Mr. Cohen added that the company was collaborating with the Department of Energy and other academic institutions to advance climatic science and come up with a better solution to the problem. The company added that Exxon is continuing research on environmental issues and seeks to make findings public.

Why News Organizations Blame Exxon

The news organizations alleged that Exxon had carried out the detailed study of the after-effects of burning of fossil fuels as early as the 1970s. The study was done in collaboration with different universities and governmental agencies, but kept secret.

Environmentalists suggest that had Exxon disclosed the effects of the action, companies would have refrained from such activities. Furthermore, they could have shifted their focus from fossil fuels to other sources of energy. This news also provoked action from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to ascertain whether the company’s decision to keep findings secret can be classified as corporate fraud.

The Exxon issue has provoked politicians to comment. Mr. Martin O’Mally, a democratic candidate in the presidential race also requested the DoJ to take action. He said we hold tobacco companies liable for lying about cancer, and the same should be the case for Exxon.

Mr. Bernie Sanders, the more prominent democratic candidate, in a letter to the US Attorney-General, said Exxon knew its product would harm the general public and the environment, but still spent millions to hiding the facts. He added that the company’s scientists were in a position to comment as early as 1977, to say that climate change is certain and was mainly due to carbon pollution resulting from the use of Exxon’s petroleum-based products.

Another climate journalist Mr. Bill McKibben said the response to catastrophic climate change would have been more timely and effective had Exxon made its findings public earlier.

Should Exxon Be Blamed?

Many environmentalists blame Exxon for several ways climate change affects the environment today. Had Exxon made its findings public, the repercussions of the use of fossil fuels would be better known, and numerous serious natural disasters may have been less severe. These initiatives are also part of the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.

-BFN News