This page features the top documents that the Climate Investigations Center believes lawyers, government officials, journalists, and the public must read to understand the unfolding #ExxonKnew investigations underway in several states.
There are three basic phases to this story:
1. What Exxon knew and when they knew it;
2. What Exxon did to block rising concern about climate change;
3. What Exxon would like to hide from investigators now.
The timeline below features some of the most telling documents about Exxon’s early knowledge of climate change science. For the full collection of Exxon documents, see our Climate Files portal
Exxon Updates and Investigations
“Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections” Science, January 2023, Supran, Rahmstorf, Oreskes – Reference Documents on ClimateFiles.com
A new study published in Science this week references multiple internal Exxon documents that are available in original form on ClimateFiles. The study got a lot of news coverage: New York Times, Guardian, Associated Press, Politico, LA Times, NPR, CNN, CNBC…
PBS Frontline “The Power of Big Oil” Viewer’s Guide: Documents and Reference Material
This post includes some of the documents, advertisements and news clips that were featured in the three part documentary, “The Power of Big Oil,” aired April 2022. I have also included additional resources from our ClimateFiles archive where appropriate PART ONE: DENIAL You can watch and find a handy transcript of Part One here. Global …
New York Times on Exxon, Russian sanctions and the role of oil and gas in Putin’s war on Ukraine
An investigation published on March 24 in the Business Section of the New York Times by Hiroko Tabuchi tells the long history of Exxon/ExxonMobil fighting US sanctions against the USSR and Russia – going back to 1981, President Reagan’s first year in office. As the Times story states: Those efforts, nearly a half-century ago, show …
BBC Radio Series Tracks History of Climate Denial
The BBC has launched a two hour series on the history of corporate climate denial. The series starts in 1988 and traces the rise in climate policy attacks through the George W. Bush Administration in the 2000s. They been researching this series for several months. Great to hear it finally! Featured interviews include Naomi Oreskes, …
Climate Lawsuit Index: Complaints with links to footnotes and referenced documents
The following is an index of recent climate lawsuits. We uploaded each complaint on DocumentCloud and added an electronic index and links to all available documents referenced or footnoted in the lawsuits. Connecticut v. ExxonMobil – Sept. 2020 State of Delaware v. BP et al – Sept 2020 City of Charleston v. Brabham Oil Company …
Imperial Oil Document Trove
Overview of Imperial Oil Document Archive Published on ClimateFiles.com Imperial Oil Limited, Exxon’s Canadian subsidiary, took a very different path from Exxon in the U.S. thirty years ago, revealing the vulnerabilities and strategies of an oil company in the age of climate crisis. While Exxon was laying low in the late 1980s – early 1990s, …
Climate Lawsuit: Massachusetts vs. ExxonMobil – November 2019
It’s been nearly four years in development. Massachusetts filed late last week and its an amazing ~200 page read. ExxonMobil has fought Attorney General Maura Healey and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts all the way…with an arsenal of aggressive tactics…trying to prevent this day from coming. More analysis and news in coming weeks and months, but …
Global Climate Coalition: Climate Denial Legacy Follows Corporations
As corporations are increasingly being held accountable for deception of shareholders and the public on climate risk, as authors and journalists explore this history, and as lawmakers investigate it, Climate Investigations Center embarked on a year-long investigation of the Global Climate Coalition (GCC), arguably the most impactful industry group ever to campaign against climate change …
History from Climate Files Follows Industry
Documents from Climate Investigations Center’s Climate Files archival portal continue to inform the discussion regarding culpability for the climate crisis. Most recently, in County of San Mateo v. Chevron Corp., et al., eight amicus briefs were filed supporting the plaintiffs seeking redress for climate change’s impacts on their communities. One of the briefs, filed by …
Carbon Capture: Expensive Pipe Dream or “Holy Grail”?
Today, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology is touted by proponents as a way to continue burning fossil fuels in a carbon constrained economy. However, two recent reports bring into question the feasibility of CCS technology to mitigate the climate crisis. The first report, released by the Center for International Environmental Law, addresses the potential …