Scientists & Executives At Ford, GM Knew As Early As The Early 1960s That CO2 Was Warming The Earth

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This investigation is based on nearly five months of reporting by E&E News, including more than two dozen interviews with former GM and Ford employees, retired auto industry executives, academics, and environmentalists. Many of these details have not previously been reported. E&E News obtained hundreds of pages of documents on GM's corporate history from the General Motors Heritage Center and Wayne State University in Detroit. Documents on Ford's climate research were unearthed by the Center for International Environmental Law. The Climate Investigations Center provided additional material on both manufacturers.

The investigation reveals striking parallels between two of the country's biggest automakers and Exxon Mobil Corp., one of the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas companies. Exxon privately knew about climate change in the late 1970s but publicly denied the scientific consensus for decades, according to 2015 reporting by InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times that spawned the hashtag #ExxonKnew and fueled a wave of climate litigation against the oil major. The findings by E&E News reveal that GM and Ford were "deeply and actively engaged" since the 1960s in understanding how their cars affected the climate, said Carroll Muffett, president and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law.

"We also know that certainly by the 1980s and 1990s, the auto industry was involved in efforts to undermine climate science and stop progress to address climate change," Muffett said. "But a different path was available." Today the companies acknowledge that climate change is a problem and in statements to E&E News outlined their plans to increase production of clean cars. A Ford spokesman said the company knows climate change is real and is "addressing it right now" by investing more than $11 billion to electrify its bestselling vehicles while aiming to run its manufacturing plants with 100% renewable energy in 15 years.

GM, in a brief response, pointed to steps it's taking to reduce emissions, such as releasing an electric version of its Hummer, which for years has embodied the popularity of gas-guzzling SUVs. (Ed. - ) The company downplayed its past rejection of climate action. "There is nothing we can say about events that happened one or two generations ago since they are irrelevant to the company's positions and strategy today," a GM spokesman said.

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https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063717035

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Adding a link:

THE MORNING SHIFT

Ford And GM Scientists Knew Cars Caused Climate Change 50 Years Ago: Report

Raphael Orlove
Today 10:00AM • Filed to: THE MORNING SHIFT

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