# Exxon scientists knew climate fixes wouldn't work > Internal documents show ExxonMobil's researchers doubted the company's public claims about biofuels and carbon capture while executives promoted them anyway. - Title: Exxon scientists knew climate fixes wouldn't work | Shortify - Summary: Internal documents show ExxonMobil's researchers doubted the company's public claims about biofuels and carbon capture while executives promoted them anyway… - Keywords: exxonmobil, climate change, internal documents, biofuels, carbon capture, massachusetts lawsuit, deception, oil industry, climate accountability, technology, science, Exxon - Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/exxonmobils-own-scientists-doubted-climate-fixes-the-company-hyped - Published: 2026-10-08T14:04:42+00:00 - Read time: 4 min - Topics: exxonmobil, climate change, internal documents, biofuels, carbon capture, massachusetts lawsuit, deception, oil industry, climate accountability, technology, science ## 1988: Exxon saw climate action coming In November nineteen eighty-eight, Frank Sprow of Exxon's research department warned colleagues that if the world agreed to fight climate change, it could cause substantial negative impacts on Exxon. > If a worldwide consensus emerges that action is needed to mitigate against Greenhouse gas effects, substantial negative impacts on Exxon could occur. ## Sprow's strategy: protect oil, monitor alternatives Sprow proposed two goals for Exxon's research: protect the value of oil, gas and coal resources, and preserve the company's business options. He recommended monitoring alternative energy technologies. > Protect the value of our resources (oil, gas, coal), and Preserve Exxon's business options. ## Sprow said Exxon should lead climate modeling Sprow recommended Exxon support researchers at leading climate modeling centers like Princeton, or send its own people to work there, to stay at the forefront of the field. > it could be considered important to be at the forefront of this modeling effort. ## Nineteen nineties: Exxon questioned climate policy costs By the late nineteen nineties, Exxon and other oil companies worked to convince the public and officials that climate policies would impose grave costs on society. ## API steering group strategy memo surfaces A nineteen ninety-seven memo from an American Petroleum Institute climate steering group meeting outlines Exxon's strategy: question the scientific basis for climate action and cite high economic costs. > continue to question the scientific basis and cite the high economic cost of policies to address climate change and avoid pressures to negotiate a compromise. ## Exxon funded think tanks to oppose climate action The memo shows Exxon funded the Competitive Enterprise Institute and worked with the American Enterprise Institute to arrange seminars and grassroots campaigns opposing climate policies. ## Two thousand five: Exxon said science was inconclusive In two thousand five, an Exxon spokesperson told Mother Jones magazine that the scientific evidence on greenhouse gas emissions remained inconclusive and studies must continue. > the scientific evidence on greenhouse gas emissions remains inconclusive and that studies must continue. ## Exxon promised Stanford climate research funding The same year, Exxon said it had devoted large sums to university research programs, including a planned one hundred million dollars to Stanford University's Global Climate and Energy Project. ## Algae biofuel: the false promise For years, Exxon ran a public relations campaign promoting algae biofuel as a sustainable alternative to petroleum. A two thousand eighteen press release claimed Exxon could produce ten thousand barrels per day by twenty twenty-five. ## Exxon scientist: algae targets were false In a deposition, an Exxon scientist who worked on the algae program said the two thousand eighteen press release was misleading. He testified the ten thousand barrel target was completely impossible to achieve. > All the clauses in there are patently false. ## Scientist said he warned executives beforehand The scientist testified he told others at Exxon before the press release was issued that the ten thousand barrel target was completely impossible to achieve. ## Algae breakthrough was actually a dead end The scientist also said a research development on algae that Exxon publicly claimed as a breakthrough was, in fact, a dead end. > a dead end. ## Carbon capture: massive investment needed A two thousand fourteen Exxon presentation on carbon capture listed challenges to reaching commercial scale, noting widespread deployment would require massive investment and storage comparable to current oil and gas production. ## Scientist doubted carbon capture leadership claim In two thousand seventeen, an Exxon scientist asked to record a carbon capture advertisement said he was not a big fan of the company calling itself a leader in the technology. > not a big fan of the claim. ## Exxon's carbon capture was limited to gas processing The scientist noted Exxon's carbon capture operations were largely restricted to gas processing plants that stripped carbon dioxide from methane and injected it into oil or gas fields. > has nothing to do with the type of carbon capture that Exxon and others were promoting for power plants and industrial facilities. ## Two thousand twenty-one: Exxon still promoting carbon capture In two thousand twenty-one, Exxon's internal presentation about an advertising campaign said its objective was to get people to believe ExxonMobil was committed to solving climate change. > believe ExxonMobil is committed to helping solve climate change. ## Two thousand sixteen: Exxon scientist warned of tipping points An Exxon scientist contributing to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned colleagues in two thousand sixteen of the risk of climate tipping points, whose probability was expected to rise with temperature change. ## Exxon plans to expand oil and gas production Despite promoting climate solutions its scientists said were unlikely to reach commercial scale, Exxon plans to expand oil and gas production more than fifteen percent by twenty thirty. ## Massachusetts sues over deceptive climate claims Massachusetts filed a lawsuit in two thousand nineteen arguing Exxon deceived consumers and investors into thinking it was taking action to limit warming when efforts were mainly public relations. ## Supreme Court case could open floodgates This week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from Exxon and Suncor Energy that a lawsuit by Boulder, Colorado should be halted. The outcome could decide whether more than two dozen other climate claims against oil companies proceed. ## Key takeaway Newly disclosed documents from a Massachusetts lawsuit reveal ExxonMobil's own scientists told executives their climate solutions were unfeasible, contradicting the company's public marketing campaigns.