ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods blamed the public this week for the world's failure to meet its climate goals, arguing that customers aren't willing to pay the costs associated with transitioning to clean energy. This finger pointing comes as ExxonMobil's home state of Texas continues to burn from devastating wildfires that have scorched over one million acres this week - fires that have been exacerbated by the very climate change Exxon's own scientists predicted decades ago.
Cassidy DiPaola, Communications Director for Fossil Free Media and spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign released the following statement:
"It's ironic that Mr. Woods is calling on average Americans to foot the bill for addressing climate change when poll after poll shows that the public overwhelmingly wants and expects Big Oil to pay. Indeed, polling from Data for Progress shows that 70% of Americans support making fossil fuel companies pay for the harms caused by climate change, with 77% agreeing that if oil and gas companies knew their products were damaging the climate and lied about it, they should pay some of the costs for the damages we're now experiencing.
Rather than take responsibility and invest meaningfully in real renewable energy solutions, ExxonMobil continues to push unlikely solutions like carbon capture and storage and blames regular people for not wanting to pay more to offset the emissions from the very products Exxon sells. The American people know where the blame lies for the climate crisis, and it's not with them.”
