Exxon Mobil's position on climate change under CEO Rex Tillerson shifted from that of climate-denier to acknowledging the science and also being proactive in doing something about it, The Hill reported.
Tillerson, Exxon's chief since 2006, is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state.
Under Tillerson, The Hill reported that Exxon Mobil:
- Endorsed last year's agreement in Paris on global warming.
- Supported a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.
- Started internal measures to put a fee on carbon emissions.
- Halted funding of climate-denying groups.
Quite an about-face for a company that descendants of John Rockefeller, the grandfather of Exxon, called "morally bankrupt" for its public rejection of climate change despite its own research dating back to the 1970s that showed otherwise.
"Before and after Rex Tillerson, Exxon had a very different profile, as a company, in the issues related to climate change, and that's worth noting," Sam Adams, the U.S. director for the non-partisan World Resources Institute told The Hill.
WRI advocates for international climate action.
Exxon under Tillerson's predecessor, Lee Raymond, fought climate policies and cast doubt on the science.
"Don't believe statements that say it's clear that things are warming. It's not clear," then Exxon VP Frank Sprow told CBS News in a 2000 interview.
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