BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, JUSTIN FARRELL, BENJAMIN FRANTA, FRESH ENERGY, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, MN350, MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE

The document asserts that the defendants had internal knowledge of the link between fossil fuels and global warming as early as the 1950s but spent decades funding disinformation and public relations strategies to manufacture doubt. It highlights a contradiction where companies publicly denied climate change while privately adjusting infrastructure, such as oil rigs and pipelines, to account for rising sea levels.

• The defendants had actual knowledge of the risks associated with fossil fuels by the late 1950s and no later than 1968. The American Petroleum Institute (API) was aware of research on carbon dioxide as early as 1954, and a 1968 Stanford Research Institute report commissioned by API warned that rising CO2 levels would likely lead to melting ice caps and rising sea levels.
• Exxon conducted extensive internal climate research from the late 1970s through the early 1980s that confirmed the scientific consensus on global warming. By 1982, Exxon's internal models and a corporate primer recognized that continued fossil-fuel combustion could lead to "potentially catastrophic" events and that major reductions in combustion were needed to mitigate these risks.
• The defendants implemented sophisticated public relations and communication strategies to manufacture doubt about climate science. This included the 1998 Global Climate Science Communications Team action plan by API, which aimed to make the recognition of scientific uncertainties part of the "conventional wisdom" to influence policymakers and the public.
• There was a stark contrast between the defendants' internal scientific findings and their external public communications. A study by Dr. Supran and Dr. Oreskes found that while 80% of Exxon's internal documents and 83% of its peer-reviewed papers acknowledged that climate change is real and human-caused, 81% of its newspaper advertorials from 1989 to 2004 expressed doubt.
• The defendants provided substantial funding to individuals and organizations to promote contrarian theories and discredit climate science. Between 1997 and 2018, Koch funded 90 organizations with at least $145 million, and between 1998 and 2019, Exxon spent at least $37 million funding 69 such organizations.
• Exxon privately acted on climate science to protect its own infrastructure while publicly denying the risks. Examples include the 1994 Europipe project and the 1996 Sable gas field project, where engineers made structural allowances for rising temperatures and sea levels.

APA

Brulle, R., Farrell, J., Franta, B., Lewandowsky, S., Oreskes, N., & Supran, G. (n.d.). BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, JUSTIN FARRELL, BENJAMIN FRANTA, FRESH ENERGY, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, MN350, MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE. Center for Climate Integrity. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Eighth_Circuit_Deception_Amicus_082521.pdf

Chicago

Brulle, Robert, Justin Farrell, Benjamin Franta, Stephan Lewandowsky, Naomi Oreskes, and Geoffrey Supran. BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, JUSTIN FARRELL, BENJAMIN FRANTA, FRESH ENERGY, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, MN350, MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE. Center for Climate Integrity, n.d. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Eighth_Circuit_Deception_Amicus_082521.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brulle |first1=Robert |last2=Farrell |first2=Justin |last3=Franta |first3=Benjamin |last4=Lewandowsky |first4=Stephan |last5=Oreskes |first5=Naomi |last6=Supran |first6=Geoffrey |title=BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, JUSTIN FARRELL, BENJAMIN FRANTA, FRESH ENERGY, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, MN350, MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE |publisher=Center for Climate Integrity |url=https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Eighth_Circuit_Deception_Amicus_082521.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brullendbrief, author = {Brulle, Robert and Farrell, Justin and Franta, Benjamin and Lewandowsky, Stephan and Oreskes, Naomi and Supran, Geoffrey}, title = {{BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ROBERT BRULLE, CENTER FOR CLIMATE INTEGRITY, JUSTIN FARRELL, BENJAMIN FRANTA, FRESH ENERGY, STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY, MN350, MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, NAOMI ORESKES, GEOFFREY SUPRAN, and the UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE}}, institution = {Center for Climate Integrity}, url = {https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Eighth_Circuit_Deception_Amicus_082521.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }