Comparison of 2019, 2018 ExxonMobil Energy and Carbon Summary Report

The Union of Concerned Scientists' comparison of ExxonMobil's 2018 and 2019 climate reports finds that the company relies on unchanged energy demand assumptions and maintains a belief that the world will fail to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals. The analysis highlights inconsistencies in how the company describes methane reduction efforts, a lack of detailed low-carbon investment breakdowns, and the use of problematic graphs to suggest alignment with IPCC scenarios. While ExxonMobil acknowledges for the first time that its fossil fuel products are part of the climate problem, it continues to emphasize uncertainty regarding the pace of the global energy transition.

• ExxonMobil used the same energy-related assumptions and data for both its 2018 and 2019 reports, projecting that global energy demand will rise by approximately 25 percent by 2040, while the carbon intensity of global GDP could fall by nearly 45 percent.
• The company expresses a belief that current policy frameworks, financial flows, and technology indicate that society is not on a 2C pathway, suggesting it will remain unconstrained in extracting and marketing fossil fuels.
• ExxonMobil's 2019 report includes a graph that the Union of Concerned Scientists describes as problematic, noting that while the company previously claimed it paralleled an IPCC scenario resulting in a 2.4C increase, the projection curve does not actually bend down through 2040.
• There is a discrepancy in terminology regarding methane emissions: Chairman Darren Woods referred to methane reduction efforts as "commitments," while the report text described them as "reduction measures that are expected to lead to considerable improvement."
• ExxonMobil has invested between $8 billion and $9 billion since 2000 in lower-emission energy solutions, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and algae biofuels, which represents less than 2 percent of its capital and exploration expenditures during that period.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2019). Comparison of 2019, 2018 ExxonMobil Energy and Carbon Summary Report. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/02/gw-accountability-ExxonMobil-Report-Comparison-Table.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Comparison of 2019, 2018 ExxonMobil Energy and Carbon Summary Report. 2019. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/02/gw-accountability-ExxonMobil-Report-Comparison-Table.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Comparison of 2019, 2018 ExxonMobil Energy and Carbon Summary Report |date=7 February 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/02/gw-accountability-ExxonMobil-Report-Comparison-Table.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2019comparison, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Comparison of 2019, 2018 ExxonMobil Energy and Carbon Summary Report}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/02/gw-accountability-ExxonMobil-Report-Comparison-Table.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }