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susan avery woods hole

acknowleges threat eg acidification backs Paris:

https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic**/2017/02/**09/will-new-climate-scientist-on-board-influence-exxon/

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yahoo 5 24 exxonknews

susan Avery, the first climate scientist on ExxonMobil's board, is stepping down. Credit: Tess Abbot/WHOItn (CC BY-SA 4.0)

When Susan Avery was first nominated to ExxonMobil’s board in 2017 after pressure from shareholder advocates to bring on a climate scientist, many hoped that her expertise could help steer the oil major in a new direction. Avery — a physicist and atmospheric scientist — had spoken during her extensive career of the need to “get off fossil fuels as much as possible."

More than seven years later, Avery is set to exit her role as chair of Exxon’s Environment, Safety, and Public Policy Committee with those hopes seemingly dashed. Evidence continues to mount that the oil giant is still spreading climate disinformation to delay action on fossil fuels, and it recently sued shareholders who proposed that it pursue emissions cuts.

Avery’s decision not to stand for re-election to the board was “for reasons unrelated to the company,” according to a February filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Avery, 74, is just shy of Exxon’s mandatory retirement age, though that was not cited in the filing — directors can run for re-election until they’re 75.

The end of her tenure has reignited debate about the role of a scientist on the board of a major oil company with a legacy of spreading science denial and ignoring internal expertise.

“People wanted to give her an opportunity to change things from within, and I think there was an expectation that she would take that responsibility seriously,” said Kathy Mulvey, accountability campaign director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy organization that supported Avery’s nomination at the time. But Avery’s ability or willingness to change the company “certainly has not borne out in reality,” Mulvey said.

Avery’s selection came after a shareholder proposal requested that Exxon nominate someone with a “high level of climate change expertise” for its board. The company’s unusual lawsuit against other shareholders could chill further attempts to sway its business model that way. Avery’s last day will be May 29, overlapping with the company’s annual shareholder meeting, where a growing number of outraged shareholder groups and state pension funds now plan to vote against prominent members of the board, including CEO Darren Woods.

With climate lawsuits against the company moving closer to trial, a growing number of states exploring legislation to make companies like Exxon pay for climate damages, and tensions with investors so high, “serving on ExxonMobil's board is a high-stakes poker game,” Mulvey said. As Avery closes out her tenure with more than $3.8 million in compensation and stock value from the company, Mulvey said, “it's not surprising” if Avery “decided to cash in her chips and go home.”

Neither Avery nor Exxon responded to requests for an interview.

Business as Usual During Avery’s Tenure

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Exxon is expanding its investments in fossil fuels.

Avery, the former president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and professor emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder, was brought onto the board during Woods’ first month as CEO. “Avery’s leadership experience in multiple academic and scientific organizations, coupled with her breadth of scientific and research expertise, reinforce the corporation’s long-standing technical and scientific foundation,” the company said as it announced her appointment.

At the time, Exxon was battling subpoenas from attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts, both investigating the company for concealing its knowledge about the dangers of burning fossil fuels. The oil giant was just beginning to experience the fallout of early revelations about its historic climate deception; the tip of that iceberg was unearthed by Inside Climate News, the Los Angeles Times, and Columbia Journalism School in 2015.

Behind the scenes, Exxon was taking a far less amenable tone in response to criticism of its climate approach.

“Kill the story,” Exxon media relations manager Alan Jeffers told Reuters’ Houston bureau chief in a 2016 email, responding to a request for comment on a Center for Media and Democracy press release accusing the American Legislative Exchange Council of abusing its nonprofit status by lobbying against climate action on behalf of Exxon.

In the years to follow, Exxon would become the target of lawsuits from state and local governments alleging the company defrauded consumers, lawmakers, and the public in order to delay climate action and protect its oil and gas profits. Evidence shows the oil giant continued to spread anti-science disinformation and internally strategize to manipulate the public’s understanding of its role in the climate crisis well into Avery’s time on the board.

A congressional report released last month following a years-long investigation found that Exxon and other oil majors’ campaigns of deception “evolved from denying climate science to spreading disinformation and perpetuating doublespeak.” Avery is mentioned in more than a dozen of the documents that members of Congress obtained from Exxon — but they’re almost entirely redacted.

The investigation found that while Exxon publicly touted its support for the Paris Agreement “since its adoption in 2015,” executives privately admitted that the company did not actually intend to meet the agreement’s goals. The oil giant’s plans are far afield from allowing it to hit those targets, according to a March analysis by think tank Carbon Tracker, which placed Exxon among the five lowest-ranking companies on its scorecard. Exxon’s climate pledges don't align with its actions, according to one peer-reviewed study, and are “misleading at best, dishonest at worst,” according to Carly Phillips, a research scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

During Avery’s tenure, the company also used advertising firms and funded partnerships with academic institutions to lend credibility to its climate pledges and promotion of “low-carbon solutions” like algae biofuels, which the company abandoned after spending millions advertising that as a climate fix. And Exxon worked to shift blame for its role in the climate crisis to consumers, according to a study of the company’s public communications by climate disinformation experts Naomi Oreskes and Geoffrey Supran.

“The people who are generating those emissions need to be aware of and pay the price for generating those emissions,” Exxon’s Woods said in a recent Fortune interview.

A November report from the International Energy Agency found that oil and gas companies account for less than 1% of clean energy investment globally. “‘When the energy world changes, so will we’ is not an adequate response to the immense challenges at hand,” the report concludes.

But Exxon has vastly expanded its investments in fossil fuels, more than doubling its oil production in the Permian Basin after sealing a $60 billion deal to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources last year. Exxon and two other oil companies told Guyana that they plan to spend more than $12.9 billion on an offshore oil project there, the country said last summer. The company’s 2023 Global Outlook predicts an increase in methane gas use of more than 20% by midcentury.

In a 2021 hearing as part of a House Oversight Committee investigation, Woods refused to pledge that the company would stop funding disinformation and lobbying against climate action.

‘Like a Cancer Doctor on the Board of a Tobacco Company’

The same committee asked Avery to testify at a later hearing, but she never did. Instead, Avery appeared to use her expertise and position to lend credibility to Exxon’s claims of climate leadership.

“I’m proud to work on key issues related to climate risk at ExxonMobil,” she said in Exxon’s 2023 “Advancing Climate Solutions” report. “With my experience as an atmospheric scientist and a leader at a global research organization, I am committed to helping to advise the Board on public issues of significance. … The members of the [Environment, Safety and Public Policy] Committee are united in our commitment to position ExxonMobil as an industry leader in pursuing sustainable solutions that improve quality of life and meet society’s evolving needs.”

Sarah Myhre, another climate scientist and program director for climate advocacy and democracy reform at the Glaser Progress Foundation, contends that Avery compromised her scientific integrity to “performatively greenwash one of the most horrifically damaging, nefarious, and fraudulent corporations that has ever existed.”

“It's like a cancer doctor on the board of a tobacco company [promoting] tobacco as a health product, something that is helping people live healthier, more vibrant lives. They're taking all of their scientific bona fides and accreditation, and they're using it for this outcome, which ultimately protects the tobacco company [as it] continues to kill people or damage their lives irrevocably,” Myhre said.

Michael Mann, a climate scientist who was subject to years of attacks from climate denialists funded by Exxon, described Avery’s service to the company as a “betrayal.”

Avery’s decision “comes across as entirely transactional: climate scientist lends their imprimatur to the world’s largest publicly-traded fossil fuel company, under fire for their history of promoting disinformation and delay tactics, for seven years, and gets 4 million dollars in return,” Mann said in an email. “What is there that doesn’t look bad here?”

Silencing Dissent at Exxon

What’s not known is whether Avery ever advised Exxon to change course. The company has a history of concealing the warnings of its own scientists and retaliating against whistleblowers — even recently.

“The ability of a board member to move a company forward partially depends on the multiple stakeholder voices that the company is hearing and whether they’re willing to listen to them,” said Timothy Smith, senior policy advisor at Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, an organization that coordinates the work of shareholder groups.

Exxon’s lawsuit against two shareholder groups, filed in January, came in response to the shareholders’ proposal asking the company to limit its Scope 3 emissions, which arise from the use of its products and make up about 85% of its total greenhouse gas emissions. (Exxon’s “net zero” ambitions and emissions reduction plans don’t account for Scope 3 emissions at all.)

Shareholder resolutions such as these are intended for a vote by a company’s stockholders. When firms want to keep proposals off the ballot, the established process is to appeal to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Exxon, which sued instead, claimed the groups were driven by an “extreme agenda” that is “calculated to diminish the company’s existing business.”

That claim was “really duplicitous because they know full well that this same agenda has been raised with them by other investors over the decade,” said Smith, arguing that the company has “become more confrontational and defensive rather than be a leader in this space.”

The shareholders, Arjuna Capital and Follow This, withdrew their proposal. But Exxon continued with its lawsuit, defending the decision in its 2024 proxy statement and arguing that the “proposal process is being abused by those who treat shareholder democracy as a venue for activism.” A judge ruled Wednesday that the case can proceed against one of the shareholders, U.S.-based Arjuna Capital, but not the Netherlands-based Follow This.

Mulvey, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said Exxon would rather battle its own investors than consider transparency about or a change to its fossil fuel business.

“Not only do they continue to fight back against mandatory climate disclosure and public policies that would hold them accountable, but it is also trying to undermine the notion that those who own the company should have a say over its direction,” she said.

Tensions could come to a head at Exxon’s annual shareholder meeting as Avery steps aside. Shareholder advocacy groups like Majority Action have urged other investors to vote against the company’s entire board of directors, which CalPERS, America’s largest pension fund, has announced it will do. The Illinois State Treasurer and California State Treasurer have made similar recommendations to their state pension funds, and the New York state pension fund plans to vote against all but two of the board members.

“The [International Energy Agency] has laid out a plan to transform our energy system in line with the 1.5°C pathway. We're at a critical juncture of how this is going to occur — and Exxon appears to be hellbent on foreclosing on that urgent and necessary discussion,” said Majority Action’s senior research analyst, Bryant Sewell. “These directors have to be held accountable.”

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no lnx

https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/oil-major-board-members-decline-testify-house-climate-panel-2022-02-03/

reuters

big Oil board members decline to testify in U.S. House climate panel

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Board members of four major oil companies declined to appear at a U.S. House oversight panel hearing scheduled for Feb. 8 to answer questions about their companies' climate change plans, the committee said on Thursday.

The congressional committee last month invited board members from Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Shell Plc , Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and BP Plc to testify about the industry's role in climate change and spreading "disinformation" about that role and their proposed solutions. Two of the companies said their board members could possibly appear at a later date.

The hearing aimed to turn up the heat on those companies after lawmakers grilled chief executives last year and to gather information about whether these companies' proposed climate change plans will achieve anything.

“If these fossil fuel companies were really taking meaningful steps to curb dangerous emissions, their boards of directors would be eager to testify before the Committee when requested, and speak to the American people,” said committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney.

The panel has scheduled a new hearing for March 8 to give time to board members to testify under oath. At the Feb. 8 hearing, they will have climate experts analyze the climate plans of those oil majors.

The board members who had been invited to testify but declined were climate scientist Dr. Susan Avery of Exxon, activist investor Alexander "Andy" Karsner of Exxon, Enrique Hernandez of Chevron, Melody Meyer of BP and Jane Holl Lute of Shell.

Exxon spokesperson Casey Norton said the company informed the committee that Avery and Karsner would "appear voluntarily when both are available" and is reviewing the most recent letter.

A BP spokesperson said "We understand that Melody is working with the committee on a mutually agreeable time to testify."

Other board members did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Each of the four companies invited have announced net zero emission targets by 2050 and have said their plans are aligned with the goals of the Paris agreement. However, those plans are focused on internal operations, not on the emissions released when consumers burn the fuels they produce.

Subcommittee Chairman Ro Khanna said the panel hopes the testimonies of these board members, who were selected because they promised to improve the companies' record on climate change, provides "a behind the scenes look at the internal discussions occurring at these companies."

He added that if they do not participate voluntarily, "all options are on the table.”

The panel concluded its first hearing targeting Big Oil last year featuring the CEOs of oil majors by issuing subpoenas for documents on what company scientists have said about climate change and any funds spent to mislead the public on global warming.

icn david h

exxonMobil has elected to its board of directors a prominent expert in atmospheric science, a move that some see as a sign the company is beginning to increase climate change considerations in its business plan.

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The company’s announcement of the election of Susan K. Avery on Wednesday came against the backdrop of mounting shareholder pressure to seat a board member with a scientific background, as well as the recent departure of Rex Tillerson as Exxon’s chief executive. It may also be an indication of how criticism of Exxon’s stance on climate science is affecting the company.

But Exxon’s harshest critics dismissed the move as an empty PR gesture.

Avery served as president and director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 2008 to 2015, and was the first woman and the first atmospheric scientist to hold the position.

“Avery’s leadership experience in multiple academic and scientific organizations, coupled with her breadth of scientific and research expertise, reinforce the corporation’s long-standing technical and scientific foundation,” according to an Exxon news release.

Avery has served on the United Nations Secretary General’s scientific advisory board, which provides advice on science, technology and innovation for sustainable development. She also had been associated with the National Research Council Global Change Research Program Advisory Committee, and advisory committees with NASA, NOAA, and the National Science Foundation.

Over the last two years, Exxon has opposed shareholder resolutions calling for a board member with a scientific and climate change background.  The company had urged shareholders to reject the proposals under the leadership of Tillerson, who is poised to be confirmed as secretary of state as soon as next week.

The company argued that its directors should have a “breadth of experience” and not be limited in their scope of expertise.

Although the resolutions received support of just 21 percent of investors in 2105 and 2016, a number of large shareholder organizations have thrown their weight behind them, including CalPERS, which manages California’s public employees retirement fund, and State Street Global Advisors, a worldwide investment management company. A similar resolution is up for consideration at the company’s annual meeting later this year.

Rev. Mike Crosby and the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order of friars had championed the resolutions. Crosby said Avery’s selection is a sign the company may be more willing to begin accepting the mainstream understanding that climate change is not only happening but will impact the world’s consumption of fossil fuels.

“It looks like they (Exxon) are changing their position,” he said.  “This is a step in what we see as a gradual evolution by Exxon.”

Crosby said the company initially refused to even talk when the friars first raised the issue several years ago.

“We weren’t getting anywhere with them,” he said. “But they have been evolving. The last time we brought it up with them, they seemed more willing to talk.”

The election of Avery doesn’t necessarily signal a wholesale embrace of climate change science, said Tim Smith, senior vice president of Boston-based Walden Asset Management, which promotes corporate responsibility on behalf of shareholders.

“This is terribly important symbolically; terribly significant for company governance,” he said.  “We don’t know that this is a big shift.”

It increases the company’s competence in addressing the climate issue, he said.

“This should enrich the climate discussion by the company and hopefully make the company more accountable for the impact of climate.”

But the move is being viewed with cynicism by some environmental organizations.

“This is a little late in the game considering Exxon has known about climate change since the 1970s,” said Jamie Henn, spokesman for 350.org.

“It’s hard to believe this is little more than a PR stunt meant to pave over the decades the company spent deceiving the public about the crisis.”

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In 2013, she was named to theScientific Advisory Board of the United Nations Secretary-General, which provides advice on science, technology and innovation for sustainable development. She also serves on the National Research Council Global Change Research Program Advisory Committee, and participates on advisory committees with NASA, NOAA, the National Science Foundation, and the National Park System. She is a professor emerita at the University of Colorado Boulder.

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no lnx

Susan K. Avery is on the board of Exxon Mobil Corp. and American Institute of Physics, Inc. and Chairman at The University Corp. for Atmospheric Research, Fellow at The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Inc. and Fellow at American Meteorological Society, Inc.

In the past Dr. Avery was Principal at The National Center for Atmospheric Research, Principal at National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Principal at The National Science Foundation, Principal at The National Research Council, President-Emeritus at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Executive Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs at The University of Colorado.

Dr. Avery received an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a graduate degree and a doctorate from the University of Illinois.

Current positions of Susan K. Avery

Name Title Since

Exxon Mobil Corporation

(Oil & Gas Refining and Marketing) Independent Director 2017

The University Corp. for Atmospheric Research Chairman -

American Institute of Physics, Inc. Vice Chairman -

The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Inc. Fellow -

American Meteorological Society, Inc. Fellow -

Holdings of Susan K. Avery

Name Equities % Valuation

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)

(Oil & Gas Refining and Marketing) 20,500 0.0005% 1,557,180 USD

Susan K. Avery: Personal Network

Name Linked companies

Neil A. Hansen Exxon Mobil Corporation

Joseph Hooley Exxon Mobil Corporation

Jennifer Kay Driscoll Exxon Mobil Corporation

Alexander A. Karsner Exxon Mobil Corporation

Gregory James Goff Exxon Mobil Corporation

Stephen M. Greenlee Exxon Mobil Corporation

Robert N. Schleckser Exxon Mobil Corporation

James M. Spellings Exxon Mobil Corporation

Kaisa Hietala Exxon Mobil Corporation

Michael James Angelakis Exxon Mobil Corporation

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nothing really on GHG AGW? water in the west

wiki

susan K. Avery (born 1950) is an Americanatmospheric physicistand President Emerita of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts, where she led the marine science and engineering research organization from 2008–2015. She was the ninth president and director and the first woman to hold the leadership role at WHOI.[1] She is Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), where she served on the faculty from 1982–2008. While at UCB she also served in various administrative positions, including director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), a 550-member collaborative institute between UCB and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (1994-2004); and interim positions (2004-2007) as vice chancellor for research and dean of the graduate school, and provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. Currently she is a senior fellow at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in Washington, D.C.

Susan Avery speaking at a dockside ceremony in June 2013 to celebrate the arrival ofDEEPSEA CHALLENGER vehicle donated to WHOI by James Cameron.

[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Susan_Avery_giving_Congressional_testimony_on_June_11,_2013.jpg)

Susan Avery and James Cameron testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries on June 11, 2013 at a hearing on Deep Sea Challenge: Innovative Partnerships in Ocean Observation.

Education and career[

Avery began her undergraduate study in physics at Michigan State University, focusing on the physics of the natural world. She specialized in howatmospheric waves propagate in the stratosphere, earning her doctorate in atmospheric science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1978.[2]

After earning her master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois, she began a career studying atmospheric science and technologies, with a strong interest in incorporating science into public policy and decision support. Avery secured her first faculty position in the University of Illinois' electrical-engineering department. This post enabled Avery to embark on her own research and teaching. Her research included studies of atmospheric circulation and precipitation, climate variability and water resources, and the development of new radar techniques and instruments for remote sensing. The author or co-author of more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, Avery helped form an integrated science and assessment program that examines the impacts of climate variability on water in the American West.

Supported by two fellowships from the National Science Foundation and CIRES she moved to the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1982. She built collaborations at theNational Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and NOAA. Avery developed new radar technology that allowed the first measurements of wind in the upper atmosphere in remote equatorial regions, leading to years of collaborations in the tropics and polar regions. She attained the academic rank of professor of electrical and computer engineering in 1992. After earning tenure, she accepted a position as associate dean of research and graduate education in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. 

From 1994–2004, she served as director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), the first woman and first engineer to hold that position. There, she facilitated new interdisciplinary research efforts spanning the geosciences while bringing them together with social and biological sciences. She helped form an integrated science and assessment program that examines the impacts of climate variability on water in the American West and established a K-12 outreach program and a Center for Science and Technology Policy Research - efforts to make CIRES research more applicable, understandable, and accessible to the public. As director of CIRES, Avery worked with NOAA and the Climate Change Science Program to help formulate a national strategic science plan for climate research. From 2004–2007, she served in interim positions as vice chancellor for research and dean of the graduate school, as well as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Avery became the president and director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on February 4, 2008.[3] During her tenure at WHOI, she led the development of an intermediate strategy for the institution to attain fiscal stability based on an external and internal landscape analysis. Implementation included structural changes in operations (fiscal and administrative), selective investments in new areas, including the Center for Marine Robotics; a new building for ocean observatories; an ocean informatics program, and strategic hiring in climate and coastal research. She oversaw the completion of major technology projects (Ocean Observatories Initiative, design and construction of the submersible Alvin replacement, and acquisition of a new ship, R/V Neil Armstrong), and she brought focus to increased work on the application of ocean science to societal issues.

Major examples include: Deepwater Horizon oil spill(2010); the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti (2010); the successful search to locate the deep water wreckage of Air France flight 447 in the southern mid-Atlantic (2011); and the measurement of oceanic radionuclides from the disaster at Fukushima (2011). She encouraged development of new funding resources through a restructured fund-raising office, partnerships with other national and international academic and research organizations, and outreach through events that opened the doors of the institution to the local and regional community.

Dr. Avery has given scientific presentations to a wide variety of lay and professional audiences, including TEDx Boston. She has been active in Congressional outreach, including testimony and briefings; active in US and international consortia dedicated to ocean research, observing, and application; and worked with the Governor's committee to develop the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020. In 2013 Avery was named to the United Nations’ newly created scientific advisory board.[4][5][6]

Research interests[

Avery's research interests include studies of atmospheric circulation and precipitation, climate variability and water resources, and the development of new radar techniques and instruments for remote sensing. She has participated in field expeditions in Greenland, Antarctica, and Australia, and she has an interest in scientific literacy and the role of science in public policy. She has also been a vocal advocate for earth system research, especially the coupling between the atmosphere and the ocean.[7][8]

Courses taught[

Circuits and Electronics I; Linear System Theory; Upper Atmosphere Dynamics (course development);Chemistry and Physics of the Middle Atmosphere; Introduction to Radar and Remote Sensing (course development); Radar Science and Techniques (course development); Geophysical Data Analysis (course development); Policy Responses to Global Environmental Change.

Service on boards and committees[

Eric Turkington with former MBL President and Director Gary Borisy and Susan Avery at the dedication of the statue of Rachel Carson.

She has served on many national and international boards, committees, commissions, and program review committees, and is active in professional societies. Her current service includes the UN Science Advisory Board; the National Research Council Global Change Research Program Advisory Committee; the NOAA Science Advisory Board; the NASA Science Advisory Committee; the National Park Service Advisory Committee, and the Leadership Alliance External Advisory Board. She is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Meteorological Society, for which she also served as president. She is also a member of the American Geophysical Union and the Marine Technology Society. Currently she is a senior fellow with the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Awards and recognition include an honorary degree from University of Massachusetts; charter membership of the National Associate Program in the National Academy of Sciences; the Stearns Award from the University of Colorado for exceptional achievement; and an Alumni Achievement Award and Distinguished Ogura Lectureship in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Illinois.

In 2017 she was elected to the board of ExxonMobil.[9]

Honors and awards[

Selected editorials, letters, statements, talks, interviews[

Presentation to the WHOI Board and Corporation (The Pillars of WHOI), May 21, 2015It’s been a privilege to lead WHOI: Statement to WHOI, June 29, 2015

Sea Stories: Presentation to the WHOI Board of Trustees, May 20, 2015

Wenju Cai, Susan K Avery, Margaret Leinen, Kenneth Lee, Xiaopei Lin, Martin Visbeck: Commentary: Institutional coordination of global ocean observations: Nature Clim. Change, 5, 4-6 (2015)

Research Independence and Integrity, May 25, 2014

Congressional Testimony: Driving Innovations through Federal Investments, April 29, 2014

Congressional Testimony: Deep Sea Challenge: Innovative Partnerships in Ocean Observing, June 11, 2013

Remarks on the Occasion of the Christening of the R/V Neil Armstrong, Anacortes, WA, March 29, 2014

Letter to U.S. House and Senate Leadership: Fiscal Cliff Impacts, December 26, 2012

The Titanic: Seeing is Knowing: Boston Globe Online, April 13, 2012

World Ocean Day Statement: The Importance of Looking Closer to Home, June 8, 2010

Deepwater Horizon Oil Statement, May 26, 2010

World Climate Summit, Ocean Day: Changing Climate, Changing Ocean, 2009

Congressional Testimony: How the Mission and Related Research of NOAA Contribute to the National Science Program, 2009

Strategic Actions for the next Administration: Preparing the Nation for Climate Change, 2008

Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Feature Editorial “Creative Collaborations to Sustain Momentum,” 2008.

The Oceans and Us, TEDx Boston talk, August 13, 2010

WCAI Living Lab interview, WHOI begins search for new leader, November 17, 2014

WCAI Living Lab interview, A Tour of 2012's Science Highlights, December 31, 2012

WCAI Living Lab interview, The Politics of Science Funding, October 15, 2012

References

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ltr

https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2022-01-20.CBM%20Khanna%20to%20Avery-Exxon%20re%20Witness%20Invitation.pdf

2017

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/exxon-mobil-susan-avery_n_588a409be4b061cf898d6e35?v4gl092spw0v5z5mi=

huffpo

exxon Mobil Corp. has added an atmospheric scientist to its board, likely in a move to counter its image as a hard-line skeptic of climate change research.

Susan Avery, 67, the former president of the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, was elected Wednesday to become the company’s 13th director on the board. A respected scientist who spent years researching atmospheric variability, she starts on Feb. 1

her election could mark a turning point for the Texas-based oil giant, which spent more than a decade funding a Big Tobacco-style disinformation campaign to undermine the growing scientific consensus on global warming.

When that failed, Exxon Mobil scaled back funding for the most egregious climate science deniers and acknowledged that the climate is changing. It even publicly backed a tax on carbon in 2009 and the Paris climate accord last year. But the company continued to pay millions to proxy groups and lawmakers who fought regulations on carbon emissions. It scored below all its U.S. and European rivals in a recent ranking of oil majors’ readiness to deal with global warming. It also refused to disclose risks to its business posed by climate change, despite a high-profile shareholder revolt last May in which investors demanded more detailed financial reports.

Appointing Avery to the board may help appease some dissident shareholders, including institutional investors like the California Public Employees Retirement System, New York City’s pension funds and the Church of England’s endowment.