Exxon CEO Goes Into the Lion’s Den to Tout Fossil Fuels
Darren Woods tells COP that demand will keep rising, and the world needs an energy transition that’s profitable for companies like his.
Darren Woods, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp., at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, today.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/BloombergWelcome to our guide to the energy and commodities markets powering the global economy. Today, Senior Executive Editor Will Kennedy examines why Exxon Mobil’s CEO would go to the UN climate conference to push for fossil fuels.
For the second year running, the chief executive officer of the largest US oil company made an appearance at the COP climate talks.
And Darren Woods, seen as a climate criminal by many of the campaigners here in Baku, Azerbaijan, wasn’t skulking around: He did a full media round, including a 40-minute conversation with Bloomberg Green’s Akshat Rathi.
Woods, CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp., took the chance to distance himself from the nihilistic climate policies of US President-elect Donald Trump and outlined his vision for a comprehensive system of climate accounting. But on one point he was quite clear: for the time being, at least, fossil-fuel demand would continue to rise.
“The world needs more fossil fuels,” he said, touting their contribution to increasing global living standards.
While that may be a statement of the current economic reality, our Big Take story today makes clear it will leave the world further than ever from meeting goals of the Paris Agreement and hasten environmental calamity.