Tag Archives: global temperatures

2000 Economist article – “Big business bows to global warming”

An article marking a shift in the chemical and petroleum industry’s acknowledgement of global climate change and its relationship to carbon emissions. The article demonstrates the voluntary measures adopted by industry to mitigate losses on internal rates of return due to carbon-based expenses. Specifically, DuPont stated its intent to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2010 compared […]

1996 Exxon’s Brian Flannery speech on “Global Climate Change”

In September 1996, Exxon Research and Engineering Company’s Brian Flannery delivered a presentation to Exxon subsidiary Esso Italiana titled “Global Climate Change.” A part of a larger collection released by Jelmer Mommers of De Correspondent in a trove of internal oil and gas industry documents, this document shows Flannery’s denial of climate change science, doubt […]

1996 Global Climate Coalition Science and Technology April Minutes and Membership

These documents reflect meeting minutes and work product of the industry-led Global Climate Coalition’s (GCC) Science and Technology Assessment Committee (STAC). The GCC opposed greenhouse gas regulations through direct engagement and collaboration with affiliated climate deniers from 1989 to 2002. Its membership spanned across the automotive, utility, manufacturing, petroleum, and mining industries. These documents demonstrate […]

1996 American Petroleum Institute book “Reinventing Energy”

Responding to the public’s awareness of anthropogenic climate change, American Petroleum Institute’s (API) 1996 “Reinventing Energy: Making the Right Choices,” supported climate denial and argued for inaction. On behalf of its corporate membership comprised of oil majors, API’s interdepartmental team of economists, government affairs staffers, and “strategic communications” experts discussed public health and environmental safety […]

1995 Shell Internal Report “Is Climate Change Occurring Already?”

This is a 1995 analysis by Shell International B.V. scientist Peter Langcake of whether climate change was in fact underway and if, as some scientists were suggesting, a “signal” had been detected showing human influence on climate from temperature, weather, polar ice melt and other data. This document is a part of a larger collection […]

1995 Shell Management Brief “Climate Change”

In February 1995, a management briefing titled “Climate Change” was internally circulated by the Shell International Petroleum Company Limited (“Shell”). This document, unearthed by Jelmer Mommers from journalism platform De Correspondent in a trove of internal Shell documents, appears to build off of research from “The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect” report (1994). Information from both reports […]

1994 Nightline Special “Is Science for Sale?”

On February 24th, 1994, ABC’s Nightline aired a news segment titled, “Is Science for Sale?” Its host, Ted Koppel, explained the piece was prompted by a conversation with then Vice President Al Gore. The segment features many prominent climate change deniers including: Fred Singer of the Science and Environmental Policy Project, Ron Arnold of the […]

1988 Climate Institute North American Conference on Preparing for Climate Change

December 6-8, 1988 an international group of dignitaries, politicians, scientists, economists, and industry representatives attended the Climate Institute’s second North American conference on “Preparing for Climate Change.” The following 731 page document contains the conference’s agenda, transcriptions of the various panelists’ remarks, and peer-reviewed articles related to climate change. In its totality, the book thoroughly […]

1988 New York Times front page article, “Global Warming Has Begun”

This document contains a chart from a 1988 New York Times front page, which graphs the global temperature change since 1880. The graph, created by James Hansen, a leading expert on climate change at NASA, makes clear that global warming was a well-established fact that attracted wide public attention as early as 1988. The chart was used as evidence at […]

1982 Exxon speech “Inventing the Future: Energy and the CO2 ‘Greenhouse’ Effect”

This is a speech to a 1982 gathering of climate scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory by Dr. E. E. David, Jr., president of the Exxon Research and Engineering Company, regarding the “greenhouse effect,” i.e. climate change, and the importance of scientific research in figuring out how to respond to it – how to “invent […]