‘Dirty secret nobody talks about’: Exxon chief blames public for climate failures, prompts serious backlash
ExxonMobil, the largest investor-owned oil company globally, is among the top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. But its Chief Executive Darren Woods recently prompted backlash from climate experts as he blamed the public for climate failures.
The real issue is that the transition to clean energy is likely to prove too expensive for consumers’ liking, Woods mentioned. “The dirty secret nobody talks about is how much all this is going to cost and who is willing to pay for it,” he told Fortune.
Part of larger attempt to skirt climate accountability?
The chief executive said the global community is currently “not on the path” to cut its emissions to net zero by 2050, stressing that big oil is not primarily responsible for the climate crisis. He has been performing in his current position at the company since 2017.
“We have opportunities to make fuels with lower carbon in it, but people are not willing to spend the money to do that,” Woods argued, further questioning: “When are people going to be willing to pay for carbon reduction?”, reported the Guardian.
Some experts are furious and stress that the Exxon chief’s rhetoric is part of a larger attempt to skirt climate accountability. Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School, said: “It’s like a drug lord blaming everyone but himself for drug problems.”
ExxonMobil aware of global heating risks for decades?
Internal documents and analyses have already established that ExxonMobil had been aware of the dangers of global heating as far back as the 1970s, but forcefully tried to sow doubt about climate change and affect action to clamp down on fossil fuel usage, the Guardian added.
In 2023, a study found that the company’s scientists had “correctly and skillfully” predicted the trajectory of global heating, then worked to plant doubt about climate science and policies in an effort to shield its business model from substantial harm.
