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'Big Oil doesn't have a future in a carbon-constrained world that stays within safe climate limits.' (Photograph: Matt Brown/AP)
These are dizzying days. Our best advice is to stay woke, and pay attention. As we prepare for a day that will revolve around Trump's Rose Garden speech to Make America Guzzle&Gush Again, it is worth taking a moment to focus on the amazing events in the background over the last few days:
These are dizzying days. Our best advice is to stay woke, and pay attention. As we prepare for a day that will revolve around Trump's Rose Garden speech to Make America Guzzle&Gush Again, it is worth taking a moment to focus on the amazing events in the background over the last few days:
And this is just a sampling of what is becoming a very clear picture of a world that is changing faster than most can keep up with.
Vote by Exxon shareholders "is a striking example that the mainstream financial world is getting closer to a meaningful understanding of the end of oil."
Let's take a closer look at the ExxonMobil vote. To be clear, Exxon still hates your children, but now their shareholders are demanding that they stop lying about it. Investors voted with an astounding 62.3% majority to require the fossil fuel giant disclose the impacts their massive oil reserves will have on the climate.
Just as groundbreaking is that the measure was reportedly supported by some of the world's biggest financial firms: BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. When firms like these start to come around, you can be pretty sure the tide is turning.
In addition to getting slammed on this vote (in spite of the company urging its shareholders to reject the resolution) ExxonMobil is also facing a suite of lawsuits at various levels (including by multiple Attorney Generals') on its history of lies and deception covering up and discrediting climate science. The climate bad guys aren't lurking in the shadows anymore, they have been pushed into plain sight and in response, investors are revolting, courts are pouncing, and people are finally starting to see past the spin.
It is important to note that acting on this resolution will come nowhere near to making Exxon a climate good-guy. They are not the first to deal with this shareholder demand, and those who have come before them have found ways of pulling rabbits out of hats by making in-house models work to show that their oil will somehow survive in a world that needs to decarbonize.
The bottom line is that Big Oil doesn't have a future in a carbon-constrained world that stays within safe climate limits. This reality is a much tougher pill to swallow, but this is a striking example that the mainstream financial world is getting closer to a meaningful understanding of the end of oil. It is our job to push them to get there faster. After all, a worthless Exxon is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when, and no one is going to want to go down with that sinking ship.
(with thanks to Hannah McKinnon for her contributions)
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
These are dizzying days. Our best advice is to stay woke, and pay attention. As we prepare for a day that will revolve around Trump's Rose Garden speech to Make America Guzzle&Gush Again, it is worth taking a moment to focus on the amazing events in the background over the last few days:
And this is just a sampling of what is becoming a very clear picture of a world that is changing faster than most can keep up with.
Vote by Exxon shareholders "is a striking example that the mainstream financial world is getting closer to a meaningful understanding of the end of oil."
Let's take a closer look at the ExxonMobil vote. To be clear, Exxon still hates your children, but now their shareholders are demanding that they stop lying about it. Investors voted with an astounding 62.3% majority to require the fossil fuel giant disclose the impacts their massive oil reserves will have on the climate.
Just as groundbreaking is that the measure was reportedly supported by some of the world's biggest financial firms: BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. When firms like these start to come around, you can be pretty sure the tide is turning.
In addition to getting slammed on this vote (in spite of the company urging its shareholders to reject the resolution) ExxonMobil is also facing a suite of lawsuits at various levels (including by multiple Attorney Generals') on its history of lies and deception covering up and discrediting climate science. The climate bad guys aren't lurking in the shadows anymore, they have been pushed into plain sight and in response, investors are revolting, courts are pouncing, and people are finally starting to see past the spin.
It is important to note that acting on this resolution will come nowhere near to making Exxon a climate good-guy. They are not the first to deal with this shareholder demand, and those who have come before them have found ways of pulling rabbits out of hats by making in-house models work to show that their oil will somehow survive in a world that needs to decarbonize.
The bottom line is that Big Oil doesn't have a future in a carbon-constrained world that stays within safe climate limits. This reality is a much tougher pill to swallow, but this is a striking example that the mainstream financial world is getting closer to a meaningful understanding of the end of oil. It is our job to push them to get there faster. After all, a worthless Exxon is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when, and no one is going to want to go down with that sinking ship.
(with thanks to Hannah McKinnon for her contributions)
These are dizzying days. Our best advice is to stay woke, and pay attention. As we prepare for a day that will revolve around Trump's Rose Garden speech to Make America Guzzle&Gush Again, it is worth taking a moment to focus on the amazing events in the background over the last few days:
And this is just a sampling of what is becoming a very clear picture of a world that is changing faster than most can keep up with.
Vote by Exxon shareholders "is a striking example that the mainstream financial world is getting closer to a meaningful understanding of the end of oil."
Let's take a closer look at the ExxonMobil vote. To be clear, Exxon still hates your children, but now their shareholders are demanding that they stop lying about it. Investors voted with an astounding 62.3% majority to require the fossil fuel giant disclose the impacts their massive oil reserves will have on the climate.
Just as groundbreaking is that the measure was reportedly supported by some of the world's biggest financial firms: BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. When firms like these start to come around, you can be pretty sure the tide is turning.
In addition to getting slammed on this vote (in spite of the company urging its shareholders to reject the resolution) ExxonMobil is also facing a suite of lawsuits at various levels (including by multiple Attorney Generals') on its history of lies and deception covering up and discrediting climate science. The climate bad guys aren't lurking in the shadows anymore, they have been pushed into plain sight and in response, investors are revolting, courts are pouncing, and people are finally starting to see past the spin.
It is important to note that acting on this resolution will come nowhere near to making Exxon a climate good-guy. They are not the first to deal with this shareholder demand, and those who have come before them have found ways of pulling rabbits out of hats by making in-house models work to show that their oil will somehow survive in a world that needs to decarbonize.
The bottom line is that Big Oil doesn't have a future in a carbon-constrained world that stays within safe climate limits. This reality is a much tougher pill to swallow, but this is a striking example that the mainstream financial world is getting closer to a meaningful understanding of the end of oil. It is our job to push them to get there faster. After all, a worthless Exxon is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when, and no one is going to want to go down with that sinking ship.
(with thanks to Hannah McKinnon for her contributions)