Tomorrow in Dallas, ExxonMobil’s climate hypocrisy will be on full display at its annual shareholders meeting. As a public company, Exxon allows shareholders to submit proposals for vote at each annual meeting. This year, four of the nine proposals call out the company for its failure to adequately address climate impacts – from its unmitigated methane emissions to its commitment to “drill, baby, drill” for oil and gas at least through 2040, despite the Paris climate accord that calls for an urgent and drastic ratcheting down of carbon pollution well before then.
Exxon has publicly urged President Trump not to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement, and it regularly touts its position that “the risks of climate change are serious and warrant thoughtful action.” Yet the company has – unsurprisingly – recommended that shareholders vote against each proposed climate resolution.
Such inconsistencies are hardly new for the oil and gas giant. The company’s labyrinthine messaging on climate change is full of platitudes that acknowledge the risks of our changing climate and its harmful impacts on future generations, but it is light on meaningful action to mitigate those impacts.
What’s more, the company continues to deny its role in contributing to climate change – and its funding of organizations that deliberately politicized and provoked doubt about climate science. With references to climate change disappearing from federal websites under President Trump, Exxon’s investments on that front certainly seem to be paying off – though at the expense of a healthy and safe future for our children and grandchildren.
I’m going to be on the ground in Dallas tomorrow, calling on Exxon do more than just talk about climate and to take action to make its facilities ready for the impacts that we know are to come. Tune in to our interviews with activists, shareholders, and more on Facebook and Twitter.
