This summer, news broke that there was documentation proving Exxon knew fossil fuels were fueling climate change since at least 1981:
The email from Exxon’s in-house climate expert provides evidence the company was aware of the connection between fossil fuels and climate change, and the potential for carbon-cutting regulations that could hurt its bottom line, over a generation ago – factoring that knowledge into its decision about an enormous gas field in south-east Asia. The field, off the coast of Indonesia, would have been the single largest source of global warming pollution at the time.
“Exxon first got interested in climate change in 1981 because it was seeking to develop the Natuna gas field off Indonesia,” Lenny Bernstein, a 30-year industry veteran and Exxon’s former in-house climate expert, wrote in the email. “This is an immense reserve of natural gas, but it is 70% CO2”, or carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change.
Needless to say, the news sparked outrage and numerous state investigations. Despite the evidence that Exxon knew about the impact fossil fuels were having on climate change, lead Congressional climate change denier Rep. Lamar Smith (TX) has repeatedly tried to thwart the House Science Committee’s investigation.
But it now appears Congress isn’t the only government investigation into Exxon's climate change scandal:
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating Exxon Mobil.
Dow Jones reported that the investigation is looking into how the company evaluates project costs based on climate change risks as well as its accounting practices.
Exxon shares neared a session low after the report and were last down about 1 percent.
Things just got a little hotter for Exxon Mobil executives. And it should.
Tuesday, Sep 20, 2016 · 6:34:27 PM +00:00
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Jen Hayden
More from the Wall Street Journal:
The formal investigation is examining Exxon’s longstanding practice of not writing down the value of its oil and gas reserves when prices fall. Exxon is the only major U.S. energy producer that hasn’t taken a write-down or impairment charge since oil prices plunged two years ago. Peers including Chevron Corp. have lowered valuations by a collective $50 billion.
But the probe is also homing in on how Exxon calculates the impact to its business from the world’s mounting response to climate change, including what figures the company uses to account for the future costs of complying with regulations to curb greenhouse gases as it evaluates the economic viability of its projects.
That represents an escalation of the legal questions Exxon faces over its past and future response to climate change. The company has spent much of this year confronting investigations by Mr. Schneiderman and other Democratic state attorneys general.