Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said that President-elect Donald Trump should not proceed with withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, claiming such a move would create too much uncertainly for businesses, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
In an exclusive interview with the outlet, Woods said that businesses need consistent policy to mitigate the most harmful effects of climate change, and the constant fluctuations in directives based on White House administrations create chaos.
"I don't think the stops and starts are the right thing for businesses," Woods told the outlet. "It is extremely inefficient. It creates a lot of uncertainty."
During his first term as president, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the pact only to have President Joe Biden rejoin the accord in 2021. On Friday of last week, The New York Times reported that Trump's transition team was preparing the necessary orders to withdraw the United States from the agreement.
Paul Sankey, an independent analyst of the industry, told the Journal that many of the major oil producers are not on board with Trump's stance. "It's ironic that the major oil companies are not supportive of the 'drill, baby, drill' strategy nor are their shareholders," he said, adding, "They've been working very hard to lower their emissions, and the last thing they want is for all the rules and regulations to change again."
Yet, some industry experts on Trump's side argue the embrace of carbon-cutting technology by the big companies is merely a tactic to keep oil prices high by limiting supply. Myron Ebell, a strategist in the first Trump transition said Exxon's opinion won't carry much weight with the incoming administration. "They're not as proud of producing oil as they should be," Ebell said. "[Trump] is going to listen to the independent [oil companies] more than he's going to listen to Darren Woods."
Woods maintains that Exxon's strategy is the right one — focusing on carbon-capture technology as opposed to green-energy alternatives. The company plans to invest $20 billion through 2027 on low-carbon technology such as hydrogen and domestic lithium. "We don't let political agendas drive our business and investment decisions we make," Woods added.