Who Committed the Worst Crime Against Humanity?

Exxon: for suppressing research supporting climate change

What’s 1982 best remembered for? The outbreak of the Falklands War? Maybe the release of Michael Jackson’s majestic album Thriller? But the year the worst crime against humanity was committed, really?

In 1982 Exxon shared research on the effects of carbon dioxide released by fossil fuels to management. The findings were seismic. The report found a close relationship between increases in CO2 levels and increases in the global temperature.

What did they do with the research? They suppressed it. Knowing the findings would place them under the spotlight. The study proved Exxon’s own product (fossil fuels) was creating a monumental problem. A problem that would threaten humanity in the 21st century. Hardly the best PR.

“CO2 Greenhouse Effect: Technical Review, p. 14”. Figure 3 from the report shows just how accurate the findings were. As of August 5th, 2019 atmospheric CO2 levels stood at nearly 412 PPM, global average temperatures are 1.2 degrees above preindustrial levels. These figures correspond with Exxon’s findings.

From the perspective of Exxon, what purpose did it serve their interests to publicise the findings? With revenue exceeding $108 billion this was the biggest company in the world. They were doing just fine as they were thank you very much.