15 dec email to rex tillerson - it's up to you to eliminate the uncertainty
TRANSCRIPT
8/20/2019 15 Dec Email to Rex Tillerson - It's Up to You to Eliminate the Uncertainty
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-dec-email-to-rex-tillerson-its-up-to-you-to-eliminate-the-uncertainty 1/7
From: Douglas Grandt [email protected]: It's up to you to eliminate the uncertainty!
Date: December 15, 2015 at 11:22 AMTo: Rex Tillerson [email protected], David Rosenthal [email protected], Kenneth P Cohen
Dear Rex,
On March 25, 2012, I wrote you a letter (attached) appealing to Eagle Scout values that weshare in common. Since then, I have written over 350 letters and twice as many emailsattempting to communicate that you are particularly situated to take the lead in shiftinghumanity to a carbon-free economy in a sensible, strategic and managed way.
You have eloquently explained that a carbon-neutral tax on carbon is the most effective marketbased solution for reducing CO2 emissions, which ExxonMobil supports, but then you added(on June 14, 2013, at the City Club of Cleveland) “but I don’t think we are to that point yet.”
You have also talked about the uncertainty in the results of climate models Exxon, MIT and theIPCC scientists have run. You have explained ramifications of uncertainty quite clearly, as well
as your perspective on uncertainty as a form of risk management.
Today, we have new dimensions added to the uncertainty, which are more critical to the risksthat ExxonMobil attempts to manage:
• The risk of financial failure as a result of the low prices of oil and gas brought on byover-production in Saudi Arabia and here in the U.S.
• The risk of public policy being enacted as a result of 195 nations agreeing Saturday atCOP21 to head below 2°C to a 1.5°C target (over pre-industrial).
Please read Our Children’s Trust's assessment of the COP21 results and the assessments bycommenters—published today and attached below—and please be guided by the ideaspresented therein as you construct your personal response to COP21 global agreements andas you and the Board of Directors adjust ExxonMobil’s long term business plan.
The writing is on the wall, as I have admonished you before. You understand the urgency tobegin reducing CO2 emissions, from your own models and collaborators at MIT and IPCC. Wecannot wait for our impotent Congress to act. Now is the time for you and ExxonMobil to takethe lead in shifting the global petroleum industry toward a carbon-free energy paradigm. Bringyour global colleagues together and decide to create a schedule for the managed and strategicretirement of refineries around the world.
I have requested time and again to meet with you to explain how I envision the processhappening—I am sure you and your staff will have ideas to improve upon my vision, and Iheartily look forward to having that conversation.
As a former Humble reservoir engineer, I want you to survive as a carbon-free energycompany, and I want us to be truly independent from the Saudi poisoned petroleum paradigm.
Very best regards,Doug Grandt
8/20/2019 15 Dec Email to Rex Tillerson - It's Up to You to Eliminate the Uncertainty
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-dec-email-to-rex-tillerson-its-up-to-you-to-eliminate-the-uncertainty 2/7
Why the Paris Agreement Falls ShortOUR CHILDREN'S TRUST · MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2015
Recent reports are touting the Paris Agreement as “an historic international climateaccord,” and a “big step forward.” President Obama says the Agreement could be “a
turning point for the world,” and that we can now be “more confident that this planet will be in better shape for the next generation.” Sadly, it’s true that the Paris Agreement–– which obliges 196 countries to work collaboratively in an effort to limit global warming tono more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels––is technically “progress”compared to the status quo. But the simple fact is: the Agreement does not come close to
what is needed to stop the destruction of our climate system and protect our children andfuture generations.
The Agreement is woefully lacking—both in terms of substance and enforceability. Evenif the signatories actually followed through with all of their respective carbon-cutting
commitments, the planet would be on pace for a temperature increase well in excess ofthe stated goals of 2 and 1.5 degrees. But there’s no reason to believe the countries willactually keep their commitments, given that the Agreement prescribes no enforcementmechanism. In our President’s own words: “the problem’s not solved by this accord.”
At Our Children’s Trust, we would like nothing more than a chance to revere anenforceable, substantive, science-based pact signed and enacted by our world leaders;
but if what we want is a stable climate and the seas to stop rising, we have to be brutallyhonest about what the Agreement actually achieves and where we are at because of it.
8/20/2019 15 Dec Email to Rex Tillerson - It's Up to You to Eliminate the Uncertainty
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-dec-email-to-rex-tillerson-its-up-to-you-to-eliminate-the-uncertainty 3/7
Here are the top three reasons why the Paris Agreement falls short:
1. The Agreement does not commit any nation to any specific level ofemissions reduction. The Agreement merely “invites” and “requests” thatnations set nationally determined contributions toward emissions reduction.
Analysis by a German team and an MIT team say the plans of 187 countries
submitted prior to the Paris Conference (90% of all CO2 emissions), if followed, would lead to between 2.7 degrees or 3.5 degrees C of warming. The world’s existingplans under this Agreement, therefore, come nowhere close to reaching the goal oflimiting warming to 2 degrees C, or 1.5 degrees C – let alone a safe level of warming,
which should be no more than 1 degree C long-term.
2. And the kicker: the Agreement imposes no firm date when nationsmust start reducing emissions nor does it prescribe any timeline ortrajectory on which those reductions should take place. The Agreementdoes not demand that nations reduce emissions NOW; it encourages them toresubmit their voluntary reductions in three years and start reducing by 2020. Wedon’t have this kind of time!
3. The Agreement does not create legally binding or enforceableemission reductions. John Kerry stated that the Agreement has no “mandatoryscheme and doesn’t have a compliance enforcement mechanism.”
What others are saying about the Agreement:
Federal Plaintiff, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez of Earth Guardians: “The documents aresigned and COP 21 has come to an end. Another year of gathering for the Conference ofParties come and gone. And still, after 21 years of meetings. After 21 years of destruction.
After 21 years of exponential increases in climate destruction across the globe. After 21 years of the increased suffering of frontline and indigenous communities, people of color, women and children, these agreements are still not enough. . . .The evidence is clear. Thescience is present. The stories are being told. Lives are being lost. Communities beingdestroyed. People being displaced. Forests burning. Seas rising. Glaciers melting. Islandssinking into the ocean. Unprecedented floods and droughts devastating communities.This is not a game. This is not about politics. This is not about leadership. This is notabout money. It’s not even about the environment anymore. This is about every livingperson and creature on the planet, our lives and our safety being threatened by thegreatest issue of our time, climate change. All this and it still isn't enough. Not enough
has already been lost to show our world leaders that they need to make significantchange to reverse the affects of climate change and prevent further destruction. But forthe first time in history, we have a global agreement on climate change. And it is a start,
but isn’t enough. It is a step in the right direction.”
Federal Plaintiff and climate scientist Dr. James Hansen: “There is no action,ust promises.”
8/20/2019 15 Dec Email to Rex Tillerson - It's Up to You to Eliminate the Uncertainty
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-dec-email-to-rex-tillerson-its-up-to-you-to-eliminate-the-uncertainty 4/7
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The conference “delivered more of the same—lotsof promises and lots of issues still left unresolved. . . . None of the commitmentsmade...are binding, and many aren't even complete. Moreover, Congress mustappropriate any funds that the Obama administration has pledged.”
The American Petroleum Institute, which is fighting our Youth Plaintiffs incourt: “The U.S. shale boom — with its massive quantities of natural gas, . . . asdeserving of at least some credit behind the drop in domestic carbon output in recent
years.” And “We will closely scrutinize the COP 21 agreement to see how it references theU.S. model of reducing emissions through technological innovation and increased use ofnatural gas.” Wow, no complaints about the Paris Agreement from the fossil fuelindustry?
The Guardian’s George Monbiot: “By comparison to what it could have been, it’s amiracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it’s a disaster.”
Bill McKibben, the co-founder of 350.org: “Every government seems now torecognize that the fossil fuel era must end and soon. But the power of the fossil fuelindustry is reflected in the text, which drags out the transition so far that endless climatedamage will be done.”
Presidential Candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders: “[The Paris Agreement] goesnowhere near far enough.”
So many from civil society, including our youth, alongside bold leaders from somenations and many indigenous communities, gave a valiant effort to push for atransformative Agreement, and we are grateful for their leadership and for being there on
behalf of us all. The public awareness and movement that continue to grow as a result ofso much work is critical. But let’s all be crystal clear so that we never get complacent: theParis Agreement is not a solution to our climate crisis. Instead, we must have binding and enforceable domestic and international commitments that limit global
warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, with a long-term maximum of 1 degree C over thepre-industrial era.
That is why Our Children’s Trust supports youth seeking legally-binding and enforceable,science-based climate recovery action in the courts. No more waiting. No morenegotiating away our children’s future. The judiciary must act now to avert the largestintergenerational injustice the world has ever known.
8/20/2019 15 Dec Email to Rex Tillerson - It's Up to You to Eliminate the Uncertainty
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-dec-email-to-rex-tillerson-its-up-to-you-to-eliminate-the-uncertainty 5/7
Please sign this petition in support of youth’s efforts to secure legally bindingscience-based climate action, as we all continue our quests toward a healthy atmosphereand stable climate on behalf all present and future generations.
Thank you for all you do to help us elevate the voice of youth and to secure theirinalienable rights, and those of future generations.
Your OCT team,
Julia, Meg, Elizabeth, Nate, Lou and Coreal
Attached is a PDF of my first letter to you dated March 25, 2012
8/20/2019 15 Dec Email to Rex Tillerson - It's Up to You to Eliminate the Uncertainty
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-dec-email-to-rex-tillerson-its-up-to-you-to-eliminate-the-uncertainty 6/7
8/20/2019 15 Dec Email to Rex Tillerson - It's Up to You to Eliminate the Uncertainty
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/15-dec-email-to-rex-tillerson-its-up-to-you-to-eliminate-the-uncertainty 7/7