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" [ad_1]\r\n<br><p id=\"primary-image-caption\" data-testid=\"primary-image-caption\">A logo of Exxon Mobil Corp is seen at the Rio Oil and Gas Expo and Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File Photo</p><div><p data-testid=\"paragraph-0\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - A lobbyist for Exxon Mobil Corp <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.reuters.com/companies/XOM.N\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__medium___1ocDap Text__large___1i0u1F Link__underline_default___MkI7S8\" rel=\"noopener\">(XOM.N)</a> said the company supports a carbon tax publicly because the plan to curb climate change would never gain enough political support to be adopted, according to an interview aired on Wednesday.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-1\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Britain's Channel 4 network aired the interview of senior Washington-based lobbyist Keith McCoy it obtained from an investigative arm of environmental campaigner Greenpeace UK, in footage that drew the ire of Exxon's chairman and chief executive.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-2\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Greenpeace activists posed as headhunters to conduct separate Zoom interviews with McCoy and a former Washington lobbyist for Exxon, Dan Easley.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-3\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">\"There is not an appetite for a carbon tax. It's a nonstarter,\" McCoy said to the Greenpeace activists. \"And the cynical side of me says, 'Yeah, we kind of know that.' But it gives us a talking point.\"</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-4\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">McCoy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He said on LinkedIn he was \"deeply embarrassed by my comments and that I allowed myself to fall for Greenpeace’s deception.\" He apologized to colleagues at Exxon in that post.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-5\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Darren Woods, Exxon's chairman and chief executive, had sharp words on McCoy's comments. \"We condemn the statements and are deeply apologetic for them, including comments regarding interactions with elected officials,\" Woods said in a release.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-6\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">\"We were shocked by these interviews and stand by our commitments to working on finding solutions to climate change,\" Woods said.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-7\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Asked whether McCoy faces disciplinary action, Exxon spokesperson Casey Norton declined to comment saying it was a private personnel matter.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-8\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">The footage comes a month after Exxon shareholders, frustrated by weak returns and the U.S. oil company's record on climate change, shook up the company when they elected three of four nominated directors from activist shareholder Engine No. 1 to Exxon's board. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/engine-no-1-win-third-seat-exxon-board-based-preliminary-results-2021-06-02/\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__medium___1ocDap Text__large___1i0u1F Link__underline_default___MkI7S8\" rel=\"noopener\"> read more </a></p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-9\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">ExxonMobil in 2018 touted its investment of $1 million over two years into a carbon tax advocacy campaign in Congress. Its annual lobbying budget is $12 million.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-10\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Exxon Director Ursula Burns said at a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas virtual event this month that the company's response to environmental criticisms \"has not been well done.\" <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxons-board-shakeup-could-force-review-billions-dollars-spending-2021-06-09/\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__medium___1ocDap Text__large___1i0u1F Link__underline_default___MkI7S8\" rel=\"noopener\"> read more </a></p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-11\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">McCoy and Easley spoke candidly to the Greenpeace activists on their strategies and positions on a range of issues, including President Joe Biden's initial $2 trillion infrastructure package, which they said they worked on to remove major climate provisions and push back against proposals to raise corporate taxes.</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-12\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Easley said the Biden infrastructure plan contained clean energy measures that would \"accelerate the transition that I think four years from now - it is going to be difficult to unwind them.\"</p><p data-testid=\"paragraph-13\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Easley, whose LinkedIn page says he started a new job in February, could not immediately be reached for comment.</p><p><span class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__default___1Xh7Yh SignOff__text___2onKdN\">Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and William Mallard</span></p><p class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__regular___Bh17t- Text__large___1i0u1F Body__base___25kqPt Body__large_body___3g04wK ArticleBody__element___3UrnEs\">Our Standards: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/about-us/trust-principles.html\" class=\"Text__text___3eVx1j Text__dark-grey___AS2I_p Text__medium___1ocDap Text__large___1i0u1F Link__underline_default___MkI7S8\" rel=\"noopener\">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a></p></div>\r\n<br>[ad_2]\r\n<br><a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/exxon-lobbyist-duped-by-greenpeace-says-climate-policy-was-ploy-ceo-condemns-2021-06-30/\">Source link </a>"
<https://green-reporter.com/exxon-lobbyist-duped-by-greenpeace-says-climate-policy-was-a-ploy-ceo-condemns-statements/>