Exxon-Mobil Funds Organizations That Publish Misleading Information About Climate Change

"Exxon Mobil has repeatedly briefed journalists that it would stop funding for some lobby groups. In March 2009, I wrote to Exxon Mobil to welcome the end of its support for some groups, but asked about its continued donations to other organisations that still publish inaccurate and misleading information about climate change. The company drew attention to a pledge in its 2007 corporate citizenship report to cease funding in 2008 for lobby groups that "divert attention" from discussions about energy and climate change.

A few weeks ago, ExxonMobil revealed that it made contributions in 2008 to lobby groups such as the National Center for Policy Analysis and the Heritage Foundation in order to "promote informed discussion". So I have now written again to ExxonMobil to point out that these organisations publish misleading information about climate change on their websites, and to seek guidance on how to reconcile this fact with the pledge made by the company. I believe that the company should keep its promise by ending its financial support for lobby groups that mislead the public about climate change."--Bob Ward

Bob Ward, the policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science, has published an article in the U.K. Guardian (7-1-09) about Exxon Mobil's continued financial support for organisations that publish misleading information about climate change on their websites:

In March 2006, I wrote an internal memo for colleagues at the Royal Society about climate change and the media. It pointed out that Exxon Mobil had published inaccurate and misleading information about the science of climate change, and had also funded campaigns by lobby groups that were attempting to convince the public that greenhouse gas emissions were not the main driver of global warming. The memo noted that some environmental organisations had been misinforming the public as well about climate change, for instance by citing it as the cause of individual extreme weather events.

I shared a copy of the memo in April 2006 with the Guardian, which reported the key points. I was immediately contacted by Greenpeace, which asked for details of the misleading statements and offered to correct them. Exxon Mobil also approached me to request a discussion.

So in June 2006, I met with two members of Esso's public relations staff. I drew attention to a report it published in February 2006 called Tomorrow's Energy: A Perspective on Energy Trends, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Future Energy Options (no longer on Exxon's website), which overplayed the uncertainties about the evidence for greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.

They complained that the company's position had been "misunderstood", but also revealed that it was planning to discontinue funding for several lobby groups that had been most active in publishing misleading information. I thought that Exxon Mobil might be at last adjusting its position to be consistent with the scientific evidence.

Then in September 2006, the company sent me its 2005 corporate citizenship report. It too overplayed the uncertainties about the scientific evidence, so I wrote to one of the staff with whom I had met previously to register my concern. I also enquired about the pledge to stop funding lobby groups which published misleading information about climate change.

Following coverage of my letter by the Guardian, I was attacked by lobby groups that were funded by Exxon Mobil, accusing me of "censorship".

Exxon Mobil wrote to the Royal Society to complain that I had treated it "unfairly".

The Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne told fellow MPs that the company had hinted that my departure from the Royal Society was linked to the letter I had written. This was untrue: I had received an offer in July 2006 to move to another job and had given the Royal Society two months notice – long before I wrote the letter.

Other[s] unconnected to Exxon Mobil made risible efforts to discredit me. Dominic Lawson, a columnist for the Independent, laughably accused me of using the letter to promote the publication of George Monbiot's book Heat.

Since that time, Exxon Mobil has repeatedly briefed journalists that it would stop funding for some lobby groups. In March 2009, I wrote to Exxon Mobil to welcome the end of its support for some groups, but asked about its continued donations to other organisations that still publish inaccurate and misleading information about climate change. The company drew attention to a pledge in its 2007 corporate citizenship report to cease funding in 2008 for lobby groups that "divert attention" from discussions about energy and climate change.

A few weeks ago, ExxonMobil revealed that it made contributions in 2008 to lobby groups such as the National Center for Policy Analysis and the Heritage Foundation in order to "promote informed discussion". So I have now written again to ExxonMobil to point out that these organisations publish misleading information about climate change on their websites, and to seek guidance on how to reconcile this fact with the pledge made by the company. I believe that the company should keep its promise by ending its financial support for lobby groups that mislead the public about climate change. [Read full text.]