埃克森美孚内部科学家曾质疑公司宣传的气候方案

埃克森美孚公司在马萨诸塞州诉讼中披露的内部文件显示，该公司的科学家对其宣传的气候解决方案持怀疑态度。1早在1988年，埃克森美孚研究部门员工弗兰克·斯普罗在内部备忘录中就警告称，"如果全球共识形成需要采取行动来减轻温室气体影响，埃克森美孚可能会遭受重大负面影响"。1

这些曾未公开的文件成为马萨诸塞州2019年对埃克森美孚提起诉讼的证据。1根据披露的材料，公司科学家对埃克森美孚所推行的生物燃料和碳捕获储存等气候解决方案提出了质疑。1其中部分文件曾在2023年被《华尔街日报》引用。1

Internal documents from ExxonMobil reveal a stark disconnect between the company's public climate messaging and the skepticism of its own researchers. As early as 1988, scientists within the company's research division expressed deep concerns about the corporation's vulnerability should global action on greenhouse gases materialize. In an internal memo that year, Frank Sprow, an employee in ExxonMobil's research department, warned that "if a global consensus forms that action is needed to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases, ExxonMobil could be significantly and negatively impacted."1

The discrepancy became evident in ExxonMobil's later promotion of climate solutions such as biofuels and carbon capture and storage, which drew scrutiny and doubt from the company's own scientific staff.1 These previously undisclosed documents surfaced as evidence in a 2019 lawsuit filed by Massachusetts against ExxonMobil, though some materials had been referenced by The Wall Street Journal in 2023.1