Exxon predicted global warming with remarkable accuracy years ago, study shows
Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon gas station on July 29, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Three academics from Harvard and the University of Potsdam in Germany published a study in the journal Science on Thursday providing evidence that Exxon Mobil, the oil and gas behemoth with a current market capitalization of $466 billion, predicted global warming with incredible accuracy in a series of internal reports and messages starting in the 1970s.
“Specifically, what’s new here is that we put a number on – and paint a picture of – what Exxon knew and when,” said study co-author Geoffrey Supran, who worked as a research associate at Harvard when he did this work.
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“We now have airtight, unimpeachable evidence that ExxonMobil accurately predicted global warming years before it turned around and publicly attacked climate science and scientists. Our findings show that ExxonMobil’s public denial of climate science contradicted its own scientists’ data,” Supran told CNBC. “This corroborates and adds statistical precision to the prior conclusions of scholars, journalists, lawyers, and politicians.”
The phrase and hashtag “ExxonKnew” have become a rallying cry after previous reporting from Inside Climate News and others showing that Exxon publicly contradicted its own understanding of climate science.
Exxon Mobil says the “ExxonKnew” movement is a “coordinated campaign” working to “stigmatize” the oil company, “creating the false appearance that ExxonMobil has misrepresented its company research and investor disclosures on climate change to the public.”
Climate activists protest on the first day of the Exxon Mobil trial outside the New York State Supreme Court building on October 22, 2019 in New York City.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
It all started with a tweet
The catalyst for the research was a viral tweet, Supran told CNBC.
Stefan Rahmstorf, a physics professor at the University of Potsdam, saw a global warming predictive chart from Exxon Mobil that Supran and Harvard professor Naomi Oreskes had previously discovered, and overlaid actual historical data on top of Exxon’s.
“The overlap was startling,” Supran said and when Rahmstorf blogged and tweeted about it, the results got a lot of attention, “by the standards of climate science on Twitter anyway,” Supran told CNBC.
The three academics then realized that the accuracy of Exxon’s climate’s projections hadn’t been formally studied, and teamed up to write this report. They were surprised to discover is the extent and accuracy of Exxon’s knowledge of climate science.
“It was startling to plot all of the company’s projections onto one graph and find them all line up so tightly around the real-world temperature rise that has ensued since their reports. That gave me pause, seeing quantitatively that Exxon didn’t just know some climate science, they helped advance it,” Supran told CNBC. “They didn’t just vaguely know ‘something’ about global warming decades ago, they knew as much as independent academic and government scientists did. Arguably, they knew all they needed to know.”
According to their research, the academics found that between 63% and 83% of the climate projections Exxon made were accurate in predicting future climate change and global warming. Exxon predicted that climate change would cause global warming of 0.20° ± 0.04 degrees Celsius per decade, which is the same as academic and governmental predictions that came out between 1970 and 2007.
The study in Science builds on work done by investigative journalists at Inside Climate News back in 2015 and Democratic lawmakers at the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, among many others.
Exxon continues to deny its wrongdoing.
“This issue has come up several times in recent years and, in each case, our answer is the same: those who talk about how ‘Exxon Knew’ are wrong in their conclusions,” Todd Spitler, spokesperson for Exxon Mobil, told CNBC.
Spitler pointed to the results of a 2019 case heard before the New York State Supreme Court by Judge Barry Ostrager which did not find the oil and gas company guilty of fraud in its climate change regulation accounting.
“What the evidence at trial revealed is that ExxonMobil executives and employees were uniformly committed to rigorously discharging their duties in the most comprehensive and meticulous manner possible,” Ostrager wrote, and Spitler passed along to CNBC. “The testimony of these witnesses demonstrated that ExxonMobil has a culture of disciplined analysis, planning, accounting, and reporting.”
We’ve been big fans of highly capable LSVs for a while here on Electrek, and the newest Cushman Hauler XL ELiTE electric utility vehicle keeps that trend alive with an extra-long, 68.5″ aluminum bed for even more cargo-hauling capability.
The Cushman Hauler XL ELiTE’s truck-like layout, functional dash, and familiar, car-like controls make it easier to operate than an ATV with a trailer, while its 1,200 lb. bed load capacity and 1,600-pound payload capacity (plus 1,500 lb. towing capacity) beat the pants off the classic, 00’s-era Ford Ranger pickup’s 1,140 lb. payload capacity.
The Cushman’s flatbed can be upgraded to add steel drop sides, an aluminum box bed (shown, above) and other custom upfit solutions that enable fleet operators to perfectly tailor the Hauler’s capabilities to their specific needs.
You already know how to drive it
The Hauler XL features a “twin pack” of two 56.7V, 4.2 kWh ELiTE lithium-ion batteries (8.4 kWh total) developed by Samsung SDI. The batteries are expected to be good for between four to eight hours of operation, depending on load, and are backed by a 5-year battery warranty.
What’s more, the newest Cushman features a technology that’s commonplace in cars and trucks, but still incredibly rare in the world of UTVs: regenerative braking.
“The Hauler XL … is an industry leader in bed size, vehicle rating and bed load capacity,” says Adam Harris, vice president and general manager of Cushman and E-Z-GO. “With our five-year battery warranty and patented E-brake technology, it’s built for the most difficult jobs.”
Cushman lists the Hauler XL’s manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) at $19,989, but dealers are advertising new ones for as low as $17,398. For that money you get a day’s worth of silent, emissions-free operation and the previously-mentioned 1,200 lb. bed capacity.
Electrek’s Take
Every smart fleet manager eventually asks themselves whether they need a pickup, or a payload. When they ask that question, they’re usually trying to decide between something like a Ford Maverick and an F-150, but with vehicles like the Hauler XL ELiTE, Club Car Urban UTV, or the latest weird thing Micah Toll dredged up on Alibaba, you get the bed and the payload capacity – and you get them both for $20-30,000 less than a conventional pickup.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Cushman, via Equipment World.
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Environment
Kia EV2 Coupe spotted for the first time: The entry-level electric SUV gains a new style
It kind of looks like the Genesis GV60. Kia’s smallest and most affordable electric SUV is set to receive a sleek new coupe variant. The Kia EV2 Coupe was spotted for the first time, giving us a clear look at how it compares to the SUV version.
Meet the Kia EV2 Coupe, a new entry-level EV
The Concept EV2 was first showcased during Kia’s EV Day in April, previewing its upcoming entry-level EV. Kia has yet to say exactly how big it will be, but it’s expected to be slightly smaller than the EV3 at 4,300 mm (169.3″) in length.
Despite its small size, Kia claims it will feel much more spaceous, thanks to a unique interior design. With a higher-sitting ride than you would expect, the EV2 even looks bigger on the road. It sort of resembles a mini EV9 with wide wheel arches and Kia’s new Tiger Face grille design.
With its official launch coming up, EV2 prototypes have been spotted driving out in public a few times now. Camouflaged, of coarse.
We even got a sneak peek of the interior during an exclusive event at Milan Design Week in April, but the most recent sighting looks a little different.
The new Kia EV2 Coupe variant was spotted on a car carrier in Korea with a coupe-like design. A video from HealerTV provides a side by side comparison of it compared to the original SUV model.
As the reporter notes, the vehicle looks almost identical from the front and back, until it comes to the C-Pillar. From what we can see, the new coupe design has a bit of a Genesis GV60-like feel to it. The bumper and trunk area have been slightly modified to fit the coupe styling.
The new Coupe variant gains pixelated turn signals on the side mirros, giving it a more futuristic, electric look.
Unlike most of Kia’s new electric vehicles, including the regular EV2, the Coupe variant features horizontal taillights, as opposed to the new vertical design. However, that could change when it arrives in production form.
The interior will feature Kia’s new ccNC (connected car Navigation Cockpit), a panoramic curved infotainment system with dual 12.3″ driver cluster and touchscreen navigation screens.
Kia is set to launch the EV2 in Europe and “other global regions” next year. Given the love for bigger trucks and SUVs in the US, it’s not expected to make the trip overseas.
Although the company has yet to officially reveal prices, Kia’s CEO, Ho-Sung Song, told Autocar in 2023 that the company wants to launch the EV2 at around £25,000 ($32,000) in the UK. It will sit below the EV3 in Kia’;s lineup, which is priced from £32,995 ($44,800) in the UK and €35,990 ($41,600) in Europe.
What do you think of the Kia EV2 Coupe? Do you like the design better than the original modle? If it looks like the Genesis GV60, sign me up. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Check back soon for more info on the upcoming Kia EV2 and new Coupe variant. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Electric Era just installed six fast EV charging stalls in 54 days from contract to go-live at a Costco in Northport, Florida. That kind of speed is rare in the EV charging world, and it’s thanks to a clever battery-backed system that skips a lot of the usual headaches like grid upgrades and long permitting delays.
Seattle-based Electric Era signed the deal with Costco on April 7, 2025, and had all the drawings and permits in by April 18. Hardware hit the site by mid-May, and by May 30, the site was live with three charger units offering both CCS and NACS plugs. (Electric Era notes that it removed existing EV charging stations, so I wonder whether having existing infrastructure in place sped up the process, even though it needed upgrades.)
The 200 kWh chargers can juice EVs up to 80% in 20 to 60 minutes, and include 24/7 monitoring, automatic fault detection, and over-the-air updates to keep them running smoothly.
Electric Era can move quickly because its patented tech drastically lowers the amount of electricity the site pulls from the grid, making installs easier and reducing grid power consumption by up to 70%. The company also handles everything in-house – from engineering to supply chain to project management – which helped them move from idea to live site in less than two months.
CEO Quincy Lee says it’s what retailers want: “Our retail customers don’t want their lots torn up for years, they want fast, reliable EV charging systems to help them grow their business and boost their bottom line.” And with grant programs on the line, being able to skip utility upgrades can make a big difference.
But this isn’t just about speed. The North Port Costco installation also includes customer-focused tech like loyalty program integration, point-of-sale connection, and 32-inch screens that retailers can use to run promos and ads. It’s all designed to pull EV drivers into the store and boost sales while they charge.
Electric Era’s chargers are no slouch on performance either. The company says its systems have a 98.5% uptime per port and more than 90% session reliability, with a 96% positive rating on PlugShare. That’s enough to qualify them for Tesla’s Third Party Charging program.
And behind all this is a “skunk works” team of former SpaceX engineers in Seattle, using a “first principles engineering process” to rethink and evaluate every step of the system, from system engineering and project management to parts procurement and system assembly.
As more EV drivers hit the road, stores want charging stations that not only work but also bring in high-value customers.
Read more: With a $30M raise, SparkCharge takes EV fleet charging off-grid
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