#Exxon #climate predictions were accurate decades ago. Still it sowed doubt

by Jeff Brady, January 12, 2023

"Decades of research by scientists at Exxon accurately predicted how much #GlobalWarming would occur from burning #FossilFuels, according to a new study in the journal Science.

"The findings clash with an enormously successful campaign that Exxon spearheaded and funded for more than 30 years that cast doubt on human-driven #ClimateChange and the science underpinning it. That narrative helped delay #federal and #international action on climate change, even as the impacts of climate change worsened.

"Over the last few years, journalists and researchers revealed that Exxon did in-house research that showed it knew that human-caused climate change is real. The new study looked at Exxon's research and compared it to the warming that has actually happened.

"Researchers at Harvard University and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research analyzed Exxon's climate studies from 1977 to 2003. The researchers show the company, now called #ExxonMobil, produced climate research that was at least as accurate as work by independent academics and governments — and occasionally surpassed it.

"That's important because ExxonMobil and the broader fossil fuel industry face lawsuits nationwide claiming they #misled the public on the harmful effects of their products.

"'The bottom line is we found that they were modeling and predicting global warming with, frankly, shocking levels of skill and accuracy, especially for a company that then spent the next couple of decades denying that very climate science,' says lead author Geoffrey Supran, who now is an associate professor of environmental science and policy at the University of Miami.

"The Earth already has warmed a little more than 1 degree Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-#industrial times of the late 1800s. That warming has led to #ExtremeWeather in recent years, including #Heatwaves, #droughts and #floods. The researchers found, for example, that Exxon's own modeling charted this kind of temperature increase.

"'Specifically, what we've done is to actually put a number for the first time on what Exxon knew, which is that the burning of their fossil fuel products would heat the planet by something like 0.2 [degrees] Celsius every single decade," Supran says."

Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2023/01/12/1148376084/exxon-climate-predictions-were-accurate-decades-ago-still-it-sowed-doubt

#ClimateCatastrophe #ClimateCrisis #ExxonKnew #HexonExxon #ExtremeWeather

I hope you enjoyed my Saturday morning foray into #FoodHistory and #Archaeology. Now back to my usual posts -- with a focus on #Exxon -- 'cuz we all know that #ExxonKnew. A #HexOnExxon!

Charleston gets early win in climate change lawsuit vs. ‘Big Oil’

By Clare Fieseler cfieseler@postandcourier.com

Jul 8, 2023

"A federal judge has given the city of Charleston an early win in its climate change lawsuit against '#BigOil' by ruling the case will stay in #SouthCarolina, where the city wants the issue fought.

"U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel agreed on July 5 that Charleston’s bid seeking to make #FossilFuel companies pay for #climate damages could proceed in state court, where it was initially filed.

"City officials welcomed the decision, which some legal experts say creates a more favorable stage in arguing that the multiple #oil and #gas companies which have operated in the U.S. for decades knew of the #environmentally #hazardous affects of their products.

"'We agree wholeheartedly with him,' said Chloe Field, a city spokeswoman. 'It is time to move towards trial in the Court of Common Pleas where we filed this case nearly three years ago.'

"In 2020, the city of Charleston filed the lawsuit against two dozen major #oil and #pipeline companies, alleging their products and the spread of misinformation about #FossilFuels have caused #ClimateChange leading to repetitive and disastrous #flooding in the city.

"Nationwide, almost two dozen state and local governments are pursuing similar litigation against oil companies seeking climate-related damages. The only government in the South to file such a case is the city of Charleston."

https://www.postandcourier.com/environment/charleston-gets-early-win-in-climate-change-lawsuit-vs-big-oil/article_0d3088b0-1c50-11ee-80c2-4326bd224f41.html

#PetroStates #HexonExxon #ExxonKnew #ShellKnew #BPKnew #LockUpTheRealCriminals #Corporations

So, it's okay to destroy #Indigenous heritage sites, pollute the planet, and appoint corporate lackeys to advisory boards -- but if you protest and cause disruption, you could face arrest?

The Australian #climate #protesters cast as extremists

By Hannah Ritchie, BBC News Sydney, July 19, 2023

"In May, after several #ExtinctionRebellion protests, the South Australia government introduced a A$50,000 maximum fine and three months jail for anyone 'recklessly' obstructing public spaces, while laws passed in New South Wales last year created a two-year maximum prison sentence for acts disrupting major roads or facilities.

"#England, #Wales and parts of #Canada and the #USA have also adopted similar laws aimed at blocking disruptive climate activism.

"In Western Australia, climate protesters say they have been 'disabled' by intimidating raids, strict bail conditions and orders which give authorities access to their devices and ban them from communicating with peers.

"According to Ms Grix, these tools were originally intended to deal with gangs and drug dealers.

"'To apply [that]... to climate defenders, who are protesting about environmental concerns, seems to be a massive overreach,' she says."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66185377

#PetroStates #HexonExxon #ExxonKnew #ShellKnew #BPKnew #LockUpTheRealCriminals #Corporations #Mockingjay #Protests #ClimateActivism