ExxonMobil
NYSE: XOM16Greenwashing / HarmfulOne of the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas companies, with growing upstream production alongside a comparatively small low-carbon solutions division.
Updated 7/29/2026
Why it's on ClimateTicker
ExxonMobil is one of the world's largest fossil-fuel producers and its core business model — extracting and selling oil and gas — is fundamentally emissions-generating; its 'Low Carbon Solutions' division (CCS, hydrogen, biofuels) is a small fraction of capital allocation and does not offset the company's outsized contribution to global greenhouse-gas emissions. The company markets climate progress through net-zero rhetoric, Scope 1 & 2 pledges, and CCS investments, but has no SBTi-validated targets covering Scope 3, continues to grow upstream production, and has a long documented record of funding climate-denial and lobbying against climate policy. Investors should treat ExxonMobil as a laggard with high greenwashing risk, not a genuine climate solution.
Commitments & Certifications
Controversy & Greenwashing Watch
In early 2024, ExxonMobil sued activist investor Arjuna Capital to block a shareholder resolution on Scope 3 emissions reductions, even after Arjuna withdrew the proposal, setting a chilling precedent for shareholder climate activism.source ↗
Multiple state AGs (New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, others) have filed or are pursuing lawsuits alleging ExxonMobil deceived investors and the public about climate risk and the viability of its business under climate regulation.source ↗
Satellite-based monitoring (GHGSat, Carbon Mapper) has repeatedly detected large methane releases from ExxonMobil Permian Basin operations inconsistent with the company's self-reported methane intensity figures.source ↗
ExxonMobil's climate risk disclosures have been flagged by SEC staff and climate-finance analysts as insufficiently quantifying the financial impact of transition risk and physical climate risk on its long-term asset base.source ↗
ExxonMobil has spent tens of millions annually lobbying against carbon taxes, clean energy standards, and methane regulations; a 2021 undercover investigation caught a senior lobbyist admitting the company's public support for a carbon tax was insincere.source ↗
In 2021, activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 won three board seats at ExxonMobil's annual meeting, citing the company's inadequate long-term climate strategy and risk of stranded assets — an extraordinary rebuke by institutional shareholders.source ↗
Investigative reporting and academic research confirmed ExxonMobil's own scientists accurately predicted human-caused climate change from the 1970s onward while the company funded external doubt campaigns and lobbied against climate policy.source ↗
Related News
Study: World's six biggest oil and gas majors rake in $147bn in annual profits
BusinessGreen · 7/28/2026
US trial could reveal who paid hackers to target Exxon climate critics: ‘on the edge of our seats’
The Guardian - Climate · 7/15/2026
They wanted to hold Exxon accountable. Then they got hacked.
Grist · 7/15/2026
Cypriot natural gas could start flowing from ExxonMobil’s discoveries by 2033
Mongabay · 6/30/2026
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