Tag Archives: public policy

2001 State Department Briefing for Follow-Up Exxon Meeting

This briefing was sent to Paula Dobriansky, who in 2001 was the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs. She was also the head of delegation and the lead negotiator on US climate change policy[NN1]. The document was authored by then Acting Assistant Secretary for The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs […]

1996 Exxon’s Lee Raymond Speech at API Annual Meeting

In 1996 Exxon Corporation’s Chairman Lee Raymond addressed the members and guests of American Petroleum Institute’s (“API”) Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington D.C. The speech championed the economic benefits of fossil fuels, industry-wide coalition building, and technological advancements. Raymond’s theme throughout the speech was “a factual, common sense approach” to contemporary […]

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 […]

Western Fuels Association

1994 Western Fuels Association Annual Report

In this segment of the Western Fuel Association’s (WFA) 1994 annual report, the association discussed their opposition to the “madness surrounding policy prescriptions emanating from the global warming debate.” Highlighting WFA’s priorities at the time, this report defined the association’s business in two parts: “delivering coal at the lowest possible cost to our members” and […]

1989 Presentation by Mobil Executive to the American Petroleum Institute’s Public Policy Committee

This 1989 document is a presentation given by Mobil’s former President of Research and Development, J. V. D’Ambrisi on July 19, 1989.  D’Ambrisi presented to the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Public Policy Committee regarding API’s HEGC Strategic Planning Process. HEGC is “responsible for the expenditure of API’s funds relating to health and environmental issues affecting the […]

Climate Policy

1980 National Commission on Air Quality Carbon Dioxide Workshop

As first brought to light by Nathaniel Rich’s NYT magazine article “Losing Earth,” this document is a transcript of a 1980 meeting held by the National Commission on Air Quality (NCAQ). The meeting, requested by Congress, was held to discuss the societal implications of climate change in order to address problems “from increased carbon dioxide emissions.” […]

1977 “The Coming Energy Crunch: A Practical Guide to Defensive Action” by former Exxon Corporate Research Laboratories manager L. G. Cook

A reaction to the oil supply squeeze in late 1976 and early 1977, this pro-oil report by Dr. Leslie G. Cook warned “the reader … to protect his own best interests in the face of impending energy limitations and constraints.” The report outlined future detriments to oil’s marketability, dismissed alternatives like solar, and assured government […]