Royal Dutch Shell Warned World of Catastrophic Climate Change From Increased Atmospheric CO2 in 1991

March 9, 2017 – In a rediscovered 28-minute film entitled, Climate of Concern, Shell Oil, while continuing to invest in CO2-emission creating fossil fuels, warned the world about anthropogenic climate change. The film begins by stating, “the need to understand the interplay of atmosphere and oceans has been given a new sense of urgency by the realization that our energy consuming way of life may be causing climatic changes with adverse consequences for us all.” The film goes on to describe what its scientists and researchers were seeing in 1991: increasing extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts, and floods, a future filled with climate refugees,  and yet, a world continuing to rely on burning of fossil fuels for energy. Produced for schools and the public, it endorsed the consensus of scientists back in 1990 that the global warming being observed was very likely tied to human activity.

In another segment of the film it describes how increasing CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels would leave no country unaffected by an amped up weather machine. It also expressed the following, “Global warming is not yet certain, but many think that to wait for final proof would be irresponsible. Action now is seen as the only safe insurance.” Shell was basing the film’s conclusions on data it had been collecting for a number of decades. It produced a 1986 report that described observed climate changes as “the greatest in recorded history.” A sister oil giant, Exxon, now ExxonMobil, had come to similar conclusions in 1977, nine years before that Shell report. Yet both companies continued to explore for oil and natural gas knowing the contribution they were making to climate change. Where Shell warned about taking action now to prevent a foreseeable tragedy, the action it did take was to keep on doing business as usual. Exxon, on the other hand, buried the company research which resurfaced in 2015.

After releasing the film Shell went on to invest in the Alberta oil sands, Arctic exploration and drilling, and other fossil fuel ventures, helping it to pad its bottom line. The company also actively participated in lobby groups that stated the opposite message to what was in the film. These groups are still with us today spreading their anthropogenic climate change denial nonsense.

One of Shell’s external review committee members from 2012 to 2014, Tom Burke, has stated, “They knew. Shell told the public the truth about climate change in 1991 and they clearly never got round to telling their own board of directors.”

So do you think Shell has learned its lesson and stopped expanding its fossil fuel operations? Not a fat chance.

Shell pays lip service to anthropogenic climate change by calculating a carbon emissions charge of $40 U.S. per ton when evaluating new energy projects. The company has also expanded natural gas exploration and investments in ethanol biofuels. It even has some solar and wind plays on the go. And to be fair, it must be stated that the company has built the Quest carbon sequestration facility in Northern Alberta to capture CO2. But the vast majority of the company’s business remains heavily dependent on oil exploration, extraction, and refining for its profits, all carbon intensive businesses that contribute to global warming.

Polluting the collective commons, our atmosphere, land, and water, while knowing the science and the damage you are doing to the planet, is not yet considered a crime against humanity. Maybe it should be.