To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas, on March 19, 2024.
News of Mike Wirth's 2023 compensation came after March was deemed the 10th month in a row to be the hottest ever recorded.
The chief executive of the U.S. oil giant Chevron saw his pay jump by more than 12% in 2023 as continued emissions from fossil fuel corporations helped push global temperatures to record heights.
Citing a new securities filing, Reutersreported Wednesday that Chevron CEO Mike Wirth received $26.5 million in total compensation last year. Chevron, the second-largest oil company in the U.S. by revenue, reported $21.3 billion in profits in 2023—a haul it used to lavish shareholders with buybacks and dividends.
News of Wirth's 2023 compensation came a day after the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced that last month was the hottest March on record globally. The organization said March marked "the 10th month in a row that is the warmest on record for the respective month of the year."
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said in a statement that "March 2024 continues the sequence of climate records toppling for both air temperature and ocean surface temperatures."
"Stopping further warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," Burgess stressed.
But oil giants like Chevron, the primary drivers of the global climate emergency, have been rolling back their already tepid climate commitments and buying up rival oil producers—a signal that the industry is bent on continuing to drill as much as possible despite increasingly dire warnings from scientists.
A Carbon Majors report released earlier this week found that Chevron is one of just 57 oil, gas, coal, and cement producers responsible for 80% of global CO2 emissions from those industries.
A separate analysis published last month by Global Witness estimated that the emissions of Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and BP could cause 11.5 million additional premature deaths around the world before the end of the century.
"In the past few months, ExxonMobil and Chevron have invested more than $100 billion into new oil and gas reserves," the human rights group noted. "BP and Shell weakened their climate pledges. And TotalEnergies plans to ramp up production in the next few years."
"Fossil fuel companies' systematic spreading of climate change denial, combined with lobbying, has slowed the transformation towards an energy system built on renewables," Global Witness added. "And yet, the supermajors are asking us to trust them, to allow them to be the ultimate arbiter, despite the massive profits they're making."
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
The chief executive of the U.S. oil giant Chevron saw his pay jump by more than 12% in 2023 as continued emissions from fossil fuel corporations helped push global temperatures to record heights.
Citing a new securities filing, Reutersreported Wednesday that Chevron CEO Mike Wirth received $26.5 million in total compensation last year. Chevron, the second-largest oil company in the U.S. by revenue, reported $21.3 billion in profits in 2023—a haul it used to lavish shareholders with buybacks and dividends.
News of Wirth's 2023 compensation came a day after the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced that last month was the hottest March on record globally. The organization said March marked "the 10th month in a row that is the warmest on record for the respective month of the year."
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said in a statement that "March 2024 continues the sequence of climate records toppling for both air temperature and ocean surface temperatures."
"Stopping further warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," Burgess stressed.
But oil giants like Chevron, the primary drivers of the global climate emergency, have been rolling back their already tepid climate commitments and buying up rival oil producers—a signal that the industry is bent on continuing to drill as much as possible despite increasingly dire warnings from scientists.
A Carbon Majors report released earlier this week found that Chevron is one of just 57 oil, gas, coal, and cement producers responsible for 80% of global CO2 emissions from those industries.
A separate analysis published last month by Global Witness estimated that the emissions of Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and BP could cause 11.5 million additional premature deaths around the world before the end of the century.
"In the past few months, ExxonMobil and Chevron have invested more than $100 billion into new oil and gas reserves," the human rights group noted. "BP and Shell weakened their climate pledges. And TotalEnergies plans to ramp up production in the next few years."
"Fossil fuel companies' systematic spreading of climate change denial, combined with lobbying, has slowed the transformation towards an energy system built on renewables," Global Witness added. "And yet, the supermajors are asking us to trust them, to allow them to be the ultimate arbiter, despite the massive profits they're making."
The chief executive of the U.S. oil giant Chevron saw his pay jump by more than 12% in 2023 as continued emissions from fossil fuel corporations helped push global temperatures to record heights.
Citing a new securities filing, Reutersreported Wednesday that Chevron CEO Mike Wirth received $26.5 million in total compensation last year. Chevron, the second-largest oil company in the U.S. by revenue, reported $21.3 billion in profits in 2023—a haul it used to lavish shareholders with buybacks and dividends.
News of Wirth's 2023 compensation came a day after the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced that last month was the hottest March on record globally. The organization said March marked "the 10th month in a row that is the warmest on record for the respective month of the year."
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said in a statement that "March 2024 continues the sequence of climate records toppling for both air temperature and ocean surface temperatures."
"Stopping further warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," Burgess stressed.
But oil giants like Chevron, the primary drivers of the global climate emergency, have been rolling back their already tepid climate commitments and buying up rival oil producers—a signal that the industry is bent on continuing to drill as much as possible despite increasingly dire warnings from scientists.
A Carbon Majors report released earlier this week found that Chevron is one of just 57 oil, gas, coal, and cement producers responsible for 80% of global CO2 emissions from those industries.
A separate analysis published last month by Global Witness estimated that the emissions of Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and BP could cause 11.5 million additional premature deaths around the world before the end of the century.
"In the past few months, ExxonMobil and Chevron have invested more than $100 billion into new oil and gas reserves," the human rights group noted. "BP and Shell weakened their climate pledges. And TotalEnergies plans to ramp up production in the next few years."
"Fossil fuel companies' systematic spreading of climate change denial, combined with lobbying, has slowed the transformation towards an energy system built on renewables," Global Witness added. "And yet, the supermajors are asking us to trust them, to allow them to be the ultimate arbiter, despite the massive profits they're making."