The Role of Oil Companies in Climate Change

The podcast episode discusses the role of oil companies, particularly Exxon, in the development of climate change awareness and the subsequent weaponization of uncertainty. In the 1970s, Exxon actively funded research on climate change and renewable energy sources. However, as economic and geopolitical factors shifted, Exxon's focus shifted towards promoting oil as their main business. This change in strategy led to the weaponization of uncertainty, where Exxon and other energy companies targeted specific demographics with news stories and advertisements to create doubt about the seriousness of climate change. They used scientific language and emphasized the uncertainties in the research to argue against taking action.