Today, over 100 geoscientists sent an open letter to the American Geophysical Union asking it to cut its ties with the oil and gas giant. “By allowing Exxon to appropriate AGU’s institutional social license to help legitimize the company’s climate misinformation, AGU is undermining its stated values as well as the work of many of its own members,” the letter reads.
The AGU’s partnership policy says the group will not accept funds from entities that “promote and/or disseminate misinformation of science, or that fund organizations that publicly promote misinformation of science.” Last year, it was revealed that ExxonMobil scientists were aware of the connection between warming and fossil fuels decades ago. The company’s subsequent cover-up has been compared to Big Tobacco denying the link between cigarettes and cancer.
Last year, AGU considered severing ties to ExxonMobil, but ultimately decided against it. In a statement today, the organization said it would again assess the sponsorship at a board meeting in April.