ExxonMobil Donation To Stanford University Is No Answer To Company's "Global Warming" Ills

Concerns Raised that XOM Grant is a Stalling Tactic;
Verdict on Global Warming is In, Technology to Deal With It Here Now.

NEWS RELEASE
December 20, 2002
For More Information Contact Peter Altman (512) 479-0335 or
or altman@campaignexxonmobil.org.

AUSTIN, TX. ///(November 20, 2002)/// The announcement by ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) that it will donate up to $10 million a year for 10 years to Stanford University for research into global warming and renewable energy alternatives is a "disappointing response" from a company that has not acknowledged the reality of climate change and has no goals or plans to deal with the problem, according to Campaign ExxonMobil. At ExxonMobil's 2002 annual shareholder meeting, Campaign ExxonMobil organized a more than 20 percent vote in favor of a company adoption of a plan for renewable energy resources.

"The $10 million a year that ExxonMobil indicates that it may contribute for each of the next 10 years to Stanford is literally 'loose change' for a company that overpays its CEO $26 million a year and lavishes $600 million internally on research that worsens the global warming problem," said Campaign ExxonMobil National Coordinator Peter Altman. "While we are pleased that ExxonMobil has finally acknowledged the need for investments in low-pollution energy sources, this is no answer for unhappy shareholders. We are concerned that the Stanford project includes no goals, no actual reductions, and no commitment from ExxonMobil to use any of the energy sources that will be researched."

Ross Gelbspan, author of the "The Heat is On: The Climate Crisis, the Cover-Up, the Prescription," said: "This is not the kind of research that is needed at a point in time when there is new evidence that the climate-change crisis is happening at the twice the originally predicted rate. Shell has invested $1 billion renewable energy. British Petroleum is the world's biggest vendor of solar systems. Toyota is beginning work next month on fuel-cell cars. By contrast, ExxonMobil is pretending that what is needed is research that will not bear fruit for 10 or more years. The problem is here today and the solutions are here today. ExxonMobil is ignoring both of those facts."

Andrew Logan, sustainable governance project program assistant at CERES, said: "It is estimated that ExxonMobil's planned investments in fossil-fuel exploration and production will create over 2 billion tons of CO2 emissions over the next decade, while this Stanford research is being done. That will bring the total greenhouse emissions for which ExxonMobil is responsible to the same amount that 1.5 billion cars would emit in a year. This is not a company that is serious about finding solutions to the global-warming problem. This is a company that wants to hide behind the fig leaf of research to buy itself time to keep on polluting."

Campaign ExxonMobil officials met Monday with ExxonMobil company representatives for a four-hour discussion about climate science, energy supplies, reductions projects and the company's reputational problems. The meeting also was attended by Andrew Logan of CERES, Sister Patricia Daly of the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment and John Wilson of Christian Brothers Investment Services, Tracey Rembert of the Shareholder Action Network and Mark Mansley of Claros Consulting. Those attending from ExxonMobil were: Pat Mulva, vice president, Investor Relations; John Genova, general manager, Corporate Planning Department; Elissa Sterry, manager, Economics and Energy, Corporate Planning Department; Ken Cohen, vice president, Public Affairs; and Brian Flannery, manager, Science Strategy and Programs. During the meeting in Dallas, ExxonMobil officials made it clear that the company still does not accept the widely held conclusion that human activities are contributing to global warming reality of global warming.

ExxonMobil announced last month it would spend $100 billion on new exploration and production of oil and gas over the next decade. Peter Altman pointed out: "To the layperson, $100 million to look into low emissions technology sounds like a lot. But it's only one tenth of 1 percent of what ExxonMobil will spend over the same time exploring and developing new sources of oil and gas, which is what is causing global warming in the first place."

London-based Claros Consulting researcher Mark Mansley said: "Shareholders concerned about ExxonMobil's position on global warming should understand that today's announcement changes nothing in terms of the long-term risk to their investment in the company. ExxonMobil is not acknowledging the reality of climate change, it does not have a plan for dealing with this reality and it remains dangerously behind its competitors in this regard."

Additionally, the Stanford Project will explore energy options that many experts say are problematic, including nuclear power and so-called "clean coal". Thus, ExxonMobil's investment may not even yield results in safer, cleaner energy sources, according to Campaign ExxonMobil.

Campaign ExxonMobil is a shareholder campaign to convince ExxonMobil to take a responsible position on climate change. Campaign ExxonMobil was founded by faith and environmental groups, and works with institutional investors, corporate governance activists and financial analysts to highlight the financial risks of ExxonMobil's current position.

CONTACT: Peter Altman, Campaign ExxonMobil at (512) 479-0335 or altman@campaignexxonmobil.org.