LPA Foundation
Presidential Issues: Environment & Energy

Environment & Energy

View all Articles by News and Views

No, Bernie Sanders, Exxon Did Not Lie About Global Warming

October 26, 2015

By James Taylor

Bernie Sanders is trying tried to divert attention from his bumbling performance in the recent Democratic Party presidential debate by making false and incendiary accusations that Exxon lied about global warming. Sanders claimed on national television that Exxon’s alleged lies likely broke the law and Exxon should be charged by the Obama administration with racketeering. Unfortunately for Sanders’s rush to create a convenient villain, there is no evidence to suggest Exxon lied about global warming.

[Full disclosure: Exxon was once a minor donor to The Heartland Institute, for whom I serve as a senior fellow. Exxon last donated to The Heartland Institute in 2006.]

The “Exxon lied” storyline began in July when the UK Guardian published an article titled, “Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years.” The article quoted a former Exxon employee saying Exxon employed a team of scientists to study the potential warming effects of carbon dioxide emissions. Some Exxon scientists believed global warming was a serious concern while others did not.

Ultimately, Exxon’s top management sided with those scientists concluding humans are not creating a global warming crisis. Nevertheless, Bernie Sanders and his left-leaning media allies are attempting to portray as a “cover up” Exxon’s scientific conclusion and subsequent decision to fund scientists and groups who similarly report a non-alarmist global warming narrative.

Read the full article at Forbes.com: No, Bernie Sanders, Exxon Did Not Lie About Global Warming