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Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · United States · 1977

Study finds Exxon's internal papers accepted warming; its advertorials cast doubt

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 2 not measured See the gaps

Researchers who analyzed 187 Exxon and Mobil documents from 1977 to 2014 found that internal records accepted human-caused warming while paid advertorials expressed doubt. At stake for nature is the timing of public and policy responses to climate change.

What?
Supran and Oreskes (2017) analyzed 187 Exxon and Mobil documents: about 80% of internal documents accepted human-caused warming, while 81% of New York Times advertorials expressed doubt. Environmental Research Letters
Where?
United States, where Exxon and Mobil documents and New York Times advertorials were analyzed; a 1997 statement in Beijing. Environmental Research Letters
When?
Documents from 1977 to 2014; study published August 2017. Environmental Research Letters
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Comparison of internal documents, peer-reviewed papers and paid advertorials. Environmental Research Letters
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

Supran and Oreskes (2017) analyzed 187 Exxon and Mobil documents: about 80% of internal documents and about 83% of peer-reviewed papers accepted human-caused climate change, while 81% of New York Times advertorials expressed doubt.

Exxon objected that the sample was taken from a Greenpeace compilation; the authors replied that only 4% of Mobil advertisements concerned climate and that they reviewed all of them, according to DeSmog.

InsideClimate News reported that Exxon scientist James Black told management in 1977 that fossil fuels would warm the planet.

The UCS blog reported that a 2023 Science study by Supran, Rahmstorf and Oreskes found that company scientists' projections for 1977 to 2003 matched later observed warming.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record Exxon's response to the 1977 to 1982 internal findings is not given in the sources reviewed; its only recorded reply is the objection to the sample.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the internal findings changed Exxon's public statements at the time.
    • None on record The Exxon statements of 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1997 are attributed to InsideClimate News and internal documents without a source link in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The business gains from the advertising are not quantified in the sources reviewed.
    • Not measured The effect of the advertorials on public opinion or policy is not measured in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Communities and civil society

    Researchers

    1. Supran and Oreskes, 2017 (Environmental Research Letters)
      Environmental Research Letters · 2017-08

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