Knowing your guilt and denying it

In 2015, we learned that Exxon knew decades ago about the severity of climate change and hid that knowledge from the public and shareholders. Now, we know that Shell knew too and even anticipated public backlash. Just like Exxon, Shell peddled scientific uncertainty and dragged its feet, maximizing its profits while the climate crisis grew.  Shell executives chose to publicly stress uncertainty to sow a phony debate about the reality of climate change. What makes Shell different from Exxon, is that Shell predicted that it would get sued over this - and, just like climate change, it was right about that too. 

Bill McKibben said: “Had they merely been candid with the world, we could have gotten to work then, and while global warming would not yet be ‘solved,’ we’d be well on the way. Instead, they appear to have chosen the path of hedging, minimizing, and diverting—and given the stakes, this was both tragic and immoral. Shell knew. And now we do too.”