It is an unpublished document, to which the journalists of “Complément d’études” had access. It dates from 1971. In an internal company magazine intended for employees, an expert in climatology warns about the consequences of a warming of the atmosphere of 1 degree, or even 1.5 degrees: “It is not It is impossible, according to some, to envisage at least partial ice melting of the poles, which would undoubtedly result in a significant rise in sea level. Its catastrophic consequences are easy to imagine. ” And this twenty years before the first report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) which unequivocally concluded at the human origin of global warming …
“At least partial ice melting of the poles” is not impossible (Total, 1971)
This document was instrumental in the research of Christophe Bonneuil. This science historian, research director at the CNRS, has just published a work on the knowledge that French oil companies had of global warming. He said to himself “very concerned” by this internal document “which already raised the alarm in 1971”.
What exactly did the French oil companies know? As early as the 1970s, their American counterparts, such as Exxon, funded scientific research to measure the consequences of the combustion of fossil fuels. Then, details Christophe Bonneuil, “between 1984 and 1988, there is a circulation of information between the big oil companies of the world, Exxon, Shell, BP … The French companies, a little smaller than the others at that time, which had no research in the 1970s on global warming, are made aware from 1984. ”
“All models are unanimous in predicting global warming” (Elf, 1986)
A particularly explicit report dates back to 1986. It was written by Elf’s Environment department and presented to the group’s executive committee. He describes the climate risk in black and white, in these terms: “The accumulation of CO2 and methane in the atmosphere and the resulting greenhouse effect will inevitably change our environment. All models are unanimous in predicting warming. The first reactions were of course to tax fossil fuels. It is therefore obvious that the oil industry will once again have to prepare to defend itself. ” A recognition in the indicative of the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions …
Extract from “Climate: the oil companies knew”, a report to see in “Further investigation”, Thursday, October 21, 2021.
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