Oil Giants Knew of Climate Change Risks in the 1950s, Internal Memos Reveal
Newly uncovered documents reveal that major oil companies were alerted to the climate change risks of fossil fuels as early as 1954. This warning, delivered by the Air Pollution Foundation, an industry-funded group, represents the earliest known instance of big oil being informed about the potentially catastrophic consequences of their products. Despite receiving this warning, the oil industry actively downplayed and denied the harms of burning fossil fuels, utilizing a strategy similar to the tobacco industry’s tactics for denying the dangers of smoking. These actions, which date back to the 1950s, laid the groundwork for decades of climate denial and delay by big oil.
John Q. Hosedrinker 
Matt Underwood