Chris D'Angelo - Big Oil Could Have Cut CO2 Emissions In 1970s — But Did Nothing
In 1963, Esso (now Exxon Mobil)
patented a design for a “novel and highly efficient electrode“ for use in fuel cells
— a possible means of decreasing carbon emissions and producing cleaner-burning
vehicles. Research into this
innovative technology, the company said at the time, “has been greatly
accelerated.” But, as Carroll
Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law, likes to say,
“Did you start driving a Prius in 1968?”
Muffett’s point, which
he supports with dozens more documents his group released Thursday, is
that American oil companies were well
aware of the risks their industry posed to the environment by the
1960s. And they could have taken actions to significantly reduce carbon
emissions. The new documents, Muffett said, show that
oil companies “clearly preferred to invest in research to explain away the
climate risks,” instead of on technologies to reduce emissions.
The Center for
International Environmental Law last month published documents showing the oil
industry was aware
of the potential role of fossil fuels in carbon dioxide emissions and
the associated climate risks as early as 1957 —
decades earlier than had previously been documented — and covered them up. This second trove of documents, Muffett said, doesn’t
contain a “smoking gun” like the first set, but does highlight how the U.S. oil
industry studied, understood and chose not to act on climate change.
“Here’s still more
evidence that this industry both understood climate issues [and] had the
capacity to cut pollution,” Muffett said. “What really emerges from our
research is which side of the coin the oil companies decided to pursue.” For example, a
1980 Exxon corporate document released last month by
the DeSmog Blog
Project refers to existing technology that could remove carbon dioxide
from power plant emissions.
“It is assumed that
the major contributors of CO2 are the burning of fossil fuels,” the
document reads. “There is no doubt that increases in fossil fuel usage and
decreases of forest cover are aggravating the potential problem of increased CO2
in the atmosphere. Technology exists to remove CO2 from stack gases but
removal of only 50% of the CO2 would double the cost of power generation.”
“They could have
deployed it very rapidly,” Muffett said of the technologies, “But they decided
it was too expensive.” The American Petroleum
Institute, an industry trade group, didn’t immediately respond to a request for
comment after business hours. The new documents also
show that during the same period, oil companies funded research into other pollutants that may offset
climate warming; carbon
sinks that would reduce the need to control emissions; and alternative
theories on the cause of climate change, some of which are still being tossed
around by climate change deniers today.
Between the 1950s and
1970s, the industry also financed studies into how petroleum products could be
used to control
the climate. The research included burning oil
to clear areas of fog and smog, and constructing
massive “artificial heat mountains” out of asphalt to increase
rainfall. As early as the 1980s, oil companies were beginning to invest in
taller oil rigs that could withstand rising sea levels.
Bigger drilling rigs,
Muffett said, are “an example of the profound distinction of how these
companies were protecting their own interests” and not the public’s.
This week, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that April 2016 was
the 12th
consecutive month to set a global temperature record. Tom Sanzillo, finance
director at the Cleveland-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial
Analysis, told Vice there is a clear potential, perhaps even likelihood, that
these documents will result in litigation against oil companies.
“This looks like it’s
pretty serious, and it just seems to get worse,” Sanzillo said. The Center for
International Environmental Law plans to release additional documents in the
near future. For now, the group’s new searchable database allows
users to identify connections between companies, research institutes and
individuals.
Check out SmokeAndFumes.org and
decide what you think about the industry.
