What, besides the rising costs of disasters caused by climate change, may dwarf Chevron’s record-breaking profits of $35.5 billion in 2022? The answer is ExxonMobil’s 2022 earnings.
The most profitable year for a western oil firm ever, Exxon made a net profit of $56 billion in 2022, surpassing its previous record of $45.22 billion in 2008 by more than 23%. This is about equivalent to $106,000 in the time it takes you to read this paragraph.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods reportedly made reference to his company’s use of the Ukraine War, record-high gas prices, and higher home heating bills when he thanked “a favorable market” for enabling the company’s record-breaking year.
Exxon’s “latest earnings reports make clear that oil companies have everything they need, including record profits and thousands of unused but approved permits, to increase production,
but they’re choosing to plow those profits into padding the pockets of executives and shareholders,” according to White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan.
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According to NPR:
In their earnings calls, Exxon and Chevron both highlighted their carbon footprints, marking a significant turnaround from the not-so-distant past when oil giants consistently denied, downplayed, or disregarded climate change.
However, instead of a swift transition away from fossil fuels, which climate supporters claim is imperative, their answers to climate change focus on lowering emissions from oil wells and pipelines or making investments in “lower-carbon” technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture.