Exxon’s Early Climate Models Were Creepily Accurate, New Study Finds
Today, a group of researchers from Harvard University and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research released a first-of-its-kind study that shows just how excellent the predictions of Exxon’s scientists were — and how the company’s leadership went on to undermine those findings to our collective peril.
The new study is the first-ever systematic, peer-reviewed analysis of the fossil fuel industry’s climate modeling and projections — and its authors say it could have big implications for efforts to hold Exxon and other oil companies accountable for their deceit.
Harvard researchers Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes (whose names you might recognize from their extensive work documenting fossil fuel industry propaganda) and climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf conducted statistical analyses of internal climate projections from Exxon scientists between 1977 and 2003.