According to a recent report from Inside Climate News, scientists hired by Exxon had concluded in the 1970s and ’80s that continuing to burn great quantities of fossil fuels would likely produce “catastrophic events” that could endanger humanity. Therefore, said these scientists, Exxon should begin a transition away from fossil fuels to renewable resources. But in the late ’80s, the executives began using money to deny that burning fossil fuels is dangerous. In light of this history, it is interesting to look at some of the main claims of the climate-denial campaign — claims that have been primarily supported by ExxonMobil, even though Exxon scientists knew them to be false by 1980. Below is an excerpt from the chapter on “Climate Denial” in David Ray Griffin, Unprecedented: Can Civilization Survive the CO2 Crisis? (Clarity Press, 2015):
