Exxon Mobil on climate change
Some quotes are more memorable than others.
Here’s what the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. told shareholders yesterday:
“What good is it to save the planet if humanity suffers?”
Rex Tillerson was responding to issues raised by environmental activists, who, according to reports of the annual meeting, wanted the world’s biggest oil company to establish greenhouse gas emission targets.
Shareholders voted that down, by 3 to 1. They also nixed a proposal to ban discrimination where sexual orientation is concerned.
Mr. Tillerson, according to The Associated Press, said that cutting back on using oil would make it more difficult to help some billions of people living in poverty.
The CEO, according to the Houston Chronicle, agreed climate change is a major issue, but he questioned what activists say should be a goal of carbon in the atmosphere of less than 350 parts per million.
“We do not see a viable pathway with any known technology today to achieve the 350 outcome that is not devastating to economies, societies and peoples’ health and well-being around the world,” he said.
“So the real question is, do you want to keep arguing about that and pursuing something that cannot be achieved at costs that will be detrimental? Or do you want to talk about what’s the path we should be on and how do we mitigate and prepare for the consequences as they present themselves?“
Source: The Globe and Mail
