InsideClimate News has been named a Pulitzer finalist for its series of stories on ExxonMobil’s climate denial, ranking it as some of the best journalism of 2015. This will be yet another blow for Exxon, which has repeatedly attacked the credibility of the outlet and the story. But now Exxon has gotten a small win, handed to them by one of the biggest scientific societies on the planet, the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
In February, a group of scientists wrote an open letter to AGU asking them to end ExxonMobil’s sponsorship of the group, as per AGU policy prohibiting partnerships with groups that “disseminate misinformation of science.”
AGU's board held a meeting, examined the evidence, and came to the conclusion that they would continue to take ExxonMobil’s money because they can’t confirm that the company is STILL funding misinformation, just that it has in the past. Joe Romm at ThinkProgress lampoons the decision, calling it the “You can’t prove they didn’t stop yesterday” defense.
Because of how AGU’s rules are written, Exxon's wrongdoing is in the past and therefore forgiven, as AGU didn’t see proof that Exxon is funding denial on a daily basis. Apparently, AGU needs impossible-to-get information to make the right call, as the report showing ExxonMobil’s denial funding is current as of 2014, the latest year such information is available. So to prove that the company is currently funding denial, they would need 2016’s information on charitable giving, which won’t be released until those taxes are filed in 2017.
In that case, to get info about Exxon’s current spending, maybe the IPCC can lend the AGU their time machine?
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