Under pressure from scientists, activists, investors, and a congressional investigation, ExxonMobil announced a pledge today to cut carbon emissions from its oil, gas, and chemicals operations to net zero by 2050. However, the company still has no plans to address global warming emissions from the burning of its products, which made up around 85 percent of ExxonMobil’s estimated total emissions for 2020.
Jiayu Liang
Below is a statement by Kathy Mulvey, accountability campaign director in the Climate and Energy program at UCS.
“ExxonMobil’s emissions reduction pledge misses the mark and is too little, too late. This commitment solely covers operational emissions, known as scope 1 and 2, which make up only a small portion of the global warming emissions associated with a fossil fuel company’s business. By not making any commitment to reduce the emissions that come from burning oil and gas, known as scope 3, ExxonMobil is shifting blame for the bulk of its emissions onto consumers who are using its products exactly as the company intended.
“Last October, ExxonMobil’s CEO had an opportunity before Congress to pledge not to fund climate disinformation or opposition to climate action. He refused. Today’s pledge is another way for ExxonMobil to shirk its full responsibility, and shows the company is more committed to greenwashing than actually tackling the mounting climate crisis it helped cause.”
To see more greenwashing claims debunked, see this blog post Mulvey wrote ahead of last October’s U.S. House hearing on climate disinformation.