DARREN WOODS made some revealing remarks this week about global warming. His ruminations matter in America’s oil industry for he is the boss of Exxon Mobil, the largest Western oil major. His firm has historically been less enthusiastic than rivals about taking climate change seriously. But a shareholder revolt last May placed three green-tinted directors on its board. That has put pressure on the Texan company’s management to curb emissions with more ambition.
On January 18th Mr Woods unveiled the firm’s long-awaited update to its climate strategy. “Is society sincere in its desire for a lower-emissions future?” asked the veteran oilman when pressed on the thinking behind the plan. It is, he says. “And so are we.” Evidence for this lies in a newfound willingness to commit to hard targets for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions.
The first, long-term target is for the company to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations by 2050. It has been quite fashionable of late for big energy firms to claim that they will achieve …