“Big Oil peddled the Big Lie,” says U.N. Secretary General

In a major speech last week, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres called out fossil fuel companies for ignoring their own scientists, spreading climate denial, and advancing a business model that “is inconsistent with human survival.” 
 

“Some in Big Oil peddled the big lie,” Guterres said. “And like the tobacco industry, those responsible must be held to account.”

The Secretary General made his comments after a major peer-reviewed study showed Exxon scientists predicted the future rate of climate change decades ago with stunning accuracy — even as the company’s executives worked to spread doubt and denial. 

“Just like the tobacco industry, they rode rough-shod over their own science,” Guterres said. “Today, fossil fuel producers and their enablers are still racing to expand production, knowing full well that this business model is inconsistent with human survival.”

Secretary General Guterres is right: It’s time to hold climate polluters accountable. 

Photo: Dean Calma / IAEA via Flickr