Latest update March 27th, 2025 8:24 AM
Latest News
- Jamaica rebuffs Rubio push against Cuban doctors
- Canadian company to pay over US$3.8M to local titleholders to fully acquire second gold project in Guyana
- Over 140,000 displaced in a week in Gaza amid renewed Israeli attacks: UN
- Businessmen complain of foreign currency shortage
- PPP disrupts meeting with Mohamed and Berbice residents
Pressure mounts for ExxonMobil to make up for environmental damage
By Kemol King
As one of the biggest oil companies in the world, ExxonMobil is facing constant pressure from its investors and the general public to minimise its emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, and its contribution to the climate crisis. It is no secret that fossil fuels are direct contributors to increased global warming. The effects of this phenomenon, like the flooding which has been devastating some communities of coastal Guyana, are numerous.
During a recent earnings call for the quarter which ended last month, Exxon’s Secretary and Vice President for Investor Relations, Neil Hansen, was questioned by a Wall Street Analyst about the company’s commitment to reducing its emissions.
Hansen said that when you look at records on global carbon dioxide emissions, 90 percent of all of it comes from three sectors: power generation, transportation and the industrial sector. He posited that finding the key to fighting the climate crisis is a comprehensive series of solutions based on advances in technology and effective implementation of policies set by Governments. In terms of handling emissions caused by power generation, Hansen said that not only the company’s internal research, but outside partnerships are being considered.
ExxonMobil, Secretary and Vice President of Investor Relations, Neil Hansen
Flooding at Parika last month, during the spring tides
In the midst of that conversation was the company’s partnership with Mosaic Materials, a chemicals engineering company that works on reducing the detriment of fossil fuels to the environment. That partnership for ExxonMobil seeks to determine ways in which the company can develop breakthrough technologies for carbon capture that can be used by the industrial world. Speaking to Jason Gableman of Cowen Incorporated, Hansen said that ExxonMobil has a wide aperture for finding solutions, since it is partnering with many universities, labs and other researchers.
On the matter of commercial transportation, Hansen said that the company offers a bio-fuel solution like Exxon’s algae programme.
And for the industrial world, he offered that the company is looking at new plant configurations, new processes and new catalysts so vehicles run well on less fuel.
Exxon has had to embark on several projects, including the adoption of technologies for carbon capture, to prove to the world that it is committed to fighting global warming. It has placed great emphasis on letting the public know that it has spent a lot of money on these efforts. But the results may not be enough.
For years, the company has been accused of lobbying with a concerted effort to create skepticism about warnings posed to the public by climate scientists and environmentalists. This is thought to be because it could cut into shareholders’ profits if governments made Exxon pay for environmental damage.
The oil company has been accused of knowing about global warming decades ago, and hiding it from the world. It has now been embroiled in two major lawsuits alleging it lied to investors about the cost of the climate crisis on its operations. Earlier this year, one of its top investors stripped Exxon of support from a fund set aside for companies serious about combating climate change. Notably, that investor – Legal and General Investment Management – lauded other oil companies for measures they have taken. That means that Exxon’s efforts to meet obligations regarding its contribution to the climate crisis may be uniquely lagging, in the oil industry.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
The U.S. pressure on Venezuela may backfire on Guyana
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The world is full of unintended consequences, those sly little gremlins that slip into... more
The Caribbean: Destined to Grin and Bear the Consequences of Its Self-Created Vulnerabilities?
By Sir Ronald Sanders For decades, many Caribbean nations have grappled with dependence on a small number of powerful countries... more
Weekend Cartoon
