In 1977, Exxon scientist James Black warned executives of the "effect of CO2 on an interglacial scale." His knowledge of historical global temps & prediction of a "carbon dioxide induced 'super-interglacial'" (in black) was remarkably consistent w/ today's best models (red). 1/n 
2/n: In @SPIEGELONLINE today, @rahmstorf discusses Exxon's early understanding of paleoclimate and its significance to ongoing climate litigation: spiegel.de/wissenschaft/n…
#ExxonKnew
#ExxonKnew
3/n: Exxon's original 1977 graph is here: insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/…
4/n: Compare Exxon's early, detailed knowledge of climate science above against this pamphlet they published *21 years* later, which conveniently omits their projected CO2-induced "super-interglacial" and instead promotes "debate about climate change" by arguing "it isn't new".
5/n: Or take this ExxonMobil ad in @nytimes, *23 years* after Black's internal warning, which argues: "Against this backdrop of large, poorly understood natural variability, it is *impossible*...to attribute the recent small surface temperature increase to human causes."
6/n: It is dichotomies like these, & ExxonMobil's weaponization of its early climate knowledge to promote doubt, that led me & @NaomiOreskes to conclude that ExxonMobil knowingly & systematically misled the public about climate change and its implications: nytimes.com/2017/08/22/opi…
7/n: Ref: Exxon's 1998 pamphlet is here: climatefiles.com/exxonmobil/199…
Ref: ExxonMobil's 2000 NYT advertorial is here: perma.cc/74BL-KL8A
Ref: My & @NaomiOreskes peer-reviewed analysis of ExxonMobil's climate communications: iopscience.iop.org/article/10.108…
Ref: ExxonMobil's 2000 NYT advertorial is here: perma.cc/74BL-KL8A
Ref: My & @NaomiOreskes peer-reviewed analysis of ExxonMobil's climate communications: iopscience.iop.org/article/10.108…
8/n: P.S. An interesting addendum is that, as @rahmstorf notes in his article (according to Google Translate), "Black underestimated the duration of the warming..."
9/n: "What he did not know at the time, since this detail was only understood since the beginning of the 2000s: the increased levels of CO2 in the air will continue for tens of thousands of years, and not decline within a few millennia of the end of emissions."
