WASHINGTON—A newly unsealed federal court transcript reveals that energy executives knew they would miss the global climate goal decades before the rest of the world. The hearings investigate whether major energy conglomerates deliberately misled the public regarding emission targets. During the intense cross-examination, a top executive admitted that the industry viewed the survival of the biosphere as an optional milestone rather than a strict target. The proceedings expose a corporate culture that treated the 1.5°C threshold as a mere suggestion.
The Cross-Examination
Q: Mr. Flense, you served as the Executive Director of Strategy at global energy giant Apex Oil. When did your team realize the company would miss the primary climate goal?
A: Oh, immediately. We drafted a memo in 1994 titled 'Project Hot Tub.' The math showed we would sail past the 1.5-degree limit by 2012. We actually celebrated. It meant our heating bills at headquarters would decrease.
Q: You celebrated? The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change warns of catastrophic feedback loops. Did that not concern you?
A: Not particularly. Our modeling showed that feedback loops create excellent wind conditions for offshore sailing. I own three yachts. We also realized that flooded coastal cities would create prime deep-water ports for our tankers. It was a win-win.
A Minor Operational Cost
Q: The record shows you spent $50 million on advertisements claiming your company loved trees. At the same time, you increased coal production by 400 percent. How do you reconcile this?
A: We loved those trees. We wanted them to grow faster. Carbon dioxide is plant food. We were essentially force-feeding the global forest. If some of them caught fire, that is just nature accepting our gift too quickly.
Q: Are you saying your strategy was to completely ignore the climate goal in favor of quarterly dividends?
A: No, we did not ignore the climate goal. We actively tracked it. We bet on the over. Our trading desk made $4 billion shorting the future of human agriculture. It was the trade of the century. My bonus bought me an island that is currently twelve feet above sea level. I have since sold it to a pension fund.
