ExxonMobil’s chief executive said on Thursday that his company “does not spread disinformation regarding climate change″ as he and other oil company chiefs countered congressional allegations the industry concealed evidence about the dangers of global warming.
Speaking at a House hearing, Darren Woods said ExxonMobil “has long acknowledged the reality and risks of climate change and it has devoted significant resources to addressing those risks".
The oil company's public statements on climate “are and have always been truthful, fact based … and consistent” with mainstream climate science, Mr Woods said.
Democrats immediately challenged the statements by Mr Woods and other oil executives, accusing them of engaging in a decades-long, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming.
“They are obviously lying like the tobacco executives were,” said Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee.
She was referring to a 1994 hearing with tobacco executives who famously stated that they did not believe nicotine was addictive. The reference was one of several to the tobacco hearing as Democrats sought to pin down oil executives on whether they believe in climate change and that burning fossil fuels such as oil contributes to global warming.
The hearing comes after months of public efforts by Democrats to obtain documents and other information on the oil industry’s role in stopping climate action over multiple decades.
The fossil fuel industry has had scientific evidence about the dangers of climate change since at least 1977, yet spread denial and doubt about the harm of its products — undermining science and preventing meaningful action on climate change, Ms Maloney and other Democrats said.
“Do you agree that [climate change] is an existential threat? Yes or no?” Ms Maloney asked Shell Oil President Gretchen Watkins.
“I agree that this is a defining challenge for our generation, absolutely,” Ms Watkins replied.
Ms Watkins, Mr Woods and other oil executives said they agreed with Ms Maloney on the existence and threat posed by climate change, but they refused her request to pledge that their companies would not spend money — either directly or indirectly — to oppose efforts to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’re pledging to advocate for low-carbon policies that do, in fact, take the company and the world to net-zero” carbon emissions, said BP America head David Lawler.
This is also the first time since BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill more than a decade ago that top industry executives have appeared together before Congress.
Ms Maloney said she hoped the hearing will help persuade oil executives to change their approach to climate change.
“I hope that after 40 years of misleading the public to block climate action, our nation’s oil and gas industry will finally change its behaviour and join the many good corporate citizens, community leaders and scientists who are working together to save our planet and our children,” she said.
“This hearing is just the start of our investigation,” added Ro Khanna, who leads a subcommittee on the environment.
“These companies must be held accountable.”
The committee released a memo on Thursday stating that the oil industry’s public support for climate reforms has not been matched by meaningful actions, and that the industry has spent billions of dollars to block reforms.
Ms Maloney and other Democrats have focused particular ire on Exxon, after a senior lobbyist for the company was caught in a secret video bragging that Exxon had fought climate science through “shadow groups” and had gone after influential senators in an effort to weaken President Joe Biden’s climate agenda.
That agenda includes a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a sweeping climate and social policy bill currently moving through Congress.
The probe comes as Mr Biden struggles to keep key climate policies in his spending bill, which is crucial to enacting the infrastructure goals that were a cornerstone of his campaign.
Moderate Democrats and Republicans are blocking large portions of Mr Biden’s climate efforts amid deep divisions within his own party before the Cop26 in Glasgow begins next week.
Mr Khanna pressed Ms Watkins and other executives to quit the American Petroleum Institute, which he said actively opposed government subsidies for electric vehicles. They declined to make such a commitment.
Agencies contributed to this report
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Our family matters legal consultant
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
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- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
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Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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