the independent paper UK

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/exxonmobil-joe-biden-infrastructure-democrats-b1875785.html">https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/exxonmobil-joe-biden-infrastructure-democrats-b1875785.html</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Climate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Undercover investigation reveals ExxonMobil ‘working with’ Democrats to kneecap Biden’s infrastructure bill</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The DC lobbyist says that Exxon is talking with Senator Joe Manchin’s office ‘every week’</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louise Boyle</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senior Climate Correspondent, New York</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@LouiseB_NY</font></div><div>
</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ExxonMobil is working to kneecap President Joe Biden’s landmark initiative to tackle the climate crisis, according to company executives captured on camera in an undercover investigation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Over Zoom calls, Keith McCoy, a senior lobbyist for the oil giant, told an <b>undercover reporter with Greenpeace</b> that it is using key Democrats to achieve its goal of weakening the president’s American Jobs Plan, the faltering $973bn bipartisan package which faces a rocky road in Congress.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Last week, after weeks of bipartisan talks, Mr Biden conditionally endorsed a scaled-back version of his original $2 trillion infrastructure plan, culling hundreds of billions of dollars of proposed support for climate initiatives.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr McCoy, who is a senior director in Exxon’s Washington DC government affairs team, said on video that he is speaking to the office of Democratic senator Joe Manchin on a weekly basis with the goal of removing “negative stuff” from the legislation with regards to rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“He’s not shy about sort of staking his claim early and completely changing the debate,” the oil executive said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[Recommended</font></div><div>
</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biden increases federal firefighter pay to $15 an hour after admitting ‘ridiculously low’ rates</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protesters form blockade in front of White House to demand bolder action on climate crisis</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protesters form blockade in front of White House to demand bolder action on climate crisis</font></div><div>
</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biden administration appears to renege on campaign pledge to end new oil and gas extraction on public lands]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Senator Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, is a crucial 50th vote for Democrats on Mr Biden’s proposals. The Independent has reached out to Senator Manchin’s office for comment.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>During the video meeting, which took place in May according to Greenpeace, Mr McCoy also said that Exxon was targeting other moderate Democrats including Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Senator Jon Tester of Montana.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Surprisingly, the Exxon executive also claimed that the fossil fuel company had gained traction with <b>Delaware Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat and close ally of the president from his home state, who has championed climate action.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We’ve been working with his office. As a matter of fact our CEO is talking to him next Tuesday,” the Exxon staffer said.</font></div><div>
</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Independent has contacted Senator Coons’ office for comment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>He also said that Exxon would then look to Democratic senators who were up for re-election in 2022 such as New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">The executive also lauded the oil corporation’s “great relationships” with Republicans. “We have great relationships with the Senators where we have <b>assets.</b>”</span> he said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He then added that those Republicans who were not up for re-election until 2026 weren’t worth targeting.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>“The 2022 class is focused on re-election so I know I have them,” he said, name-checking Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy and Montana Senator Steve Daines, calling them a “captive audience”.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“They know they need you and I need them,” Mr McCoy added.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On the video, Mr McCoy described the president’s plan to <b>slash greenhouse gas emissions as “insane”</b> and admitted that the company had aggressively fought early climate science through “shadow groups” to protect its business.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Greenpeace says that no serving Exxon executive has ever before admitted that the company fought climate science to protect its financial interests.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Mr McCoy also suggested that Exxon’s public pledge of support for a carbon tax to tackle the climate crisis is just an “advocacy tool” and “great talking point” but won’t happen.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Greenpeace said that reporters with their UnEarthed team posed as recruitment consultants looking to hire a DC lobbyist for a major client and approached Mr McCoy and a second Exxon lobbyist, Dan Easley, for a meeting</b>. During the meeting reporters asked questions about Exxon’s current and historical lobbying on environmental issues.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Mr Easley left the company in January to join a clean tech firm but was chief White House lobbyist throughout the Trump administration. He burst out laughing on a Zoom call when asked by the undercover reporter if Exxon, which publicly claims it supports the Paris climate agreement, had achieved many policy wins under Trump.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">“The wins are such that it would be difficult to categorise them all,” he said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>He went on to say that the former president’s slashing of the corporate tax rate was the biggest boon and “probably worth billions to Exxon.”</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greenpeace UK’s senior climate campaigner Charlie Kronick said: “The mask has slipped. No matter how much Exxon wants you to think they care about the climate crisis, this shows as clear as day that the<b> tiger hasn’t changed its stripes.”</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">He added: “As a record-breaking heatwave engulfs the Pacific Northwest, people will remember President Biden’s big promises about transforming the US economy to avoid catastrophic climate change. If he wants to succeed, he can’t allow Exxon to undermine his flagship climate legislation. Either the White House stands firm on key measures about electric cars and clean energy, <b>or this may go down in history as the Exxon bill.</b></span><b>”</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a statement to The Independent, Darren Woods, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation, said: “Comments made by the individuals in no way represent the company’s position on a variety of issues, including climate policy and our firm commitment that carbon pricing is important to addressing climate change. The individuals interviewed were never involved in developing the company’s policy positions on the issues discussed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We condemn the statements and are deeply apologetic for them, including comments regarding interactions with elected officials. They are entirely inconsistent with the way we expect our people to conduct themselves. We were shocked by these interviews and stand by our commitments to working on finding solutions to climate change.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More aboutJoe BidenExxonMobilDemocratsGreenpeaceOil Giant</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></div>