Things could have been so very different.
The year was 1977, and James F. Black, a senior scientist at Exxon—which also trades as Esso and Mobil—met with the oil giants’ top leaders. This is what he told them:
There is general scientific agreement that the most likely manner in which mankind is influencing the global climate is through carbon dioxide release from the burning of fossil fuels.
— James F. Black, Senior Exxon Scientist, 1977
[Source: Inside Climate News]
Exxon spent the next decade verifying his claim. Not only did they create their own climate models, they also outfitted a supertanker to sample carbon dioxide levels in the air and ocean.
In 1982, Exxon predicted it would become over 2°C warmer by 2060 because of rising carbon dioxide levels reaching 560ppm. Their findings were part of a report marked, "not to be distributed externally." [Source: The Guardian].
Shell, another oil giant, was also commissioning reports into the greenhouse effect as early as 1981. Through the 1980s, they too were internally confirming that burning fossil fuels was "the main cause" of rising carbon dioxide levels. [Source: Climate Files].
In a confidential internal report from 1988, Shell states how their “Group” accounts for 4% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Fossil fuels which are marketed and used by the Group account for the production of 4% of the CO2 emitted worldwide from combustion. Of these emissions, 80% comes from Group oil, 12% from Group gas and 8% from Group coal.
— Shell in a Confidential Internal Report entitled The Greenhouse Effect, 1988
[Source: Climate Files]
Both Exxon and Shell knew.
And they didn't tell anyone.
