Rex Tillerson, CEO of the world’s largest oil company ExxonMobil, told a New York audience yesterday that fears about climate change, drilling and energy dependence were exaggerated.
"We have spent our entire existence adapting. We'll adapt," he said in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations. "It's an engineering problem and there will be an engineering solution."
Tillerson acknowledged that burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming but questioned the ability of climate models to predict its impact.
He also expressed frustration at the level of public concern over new drilling techniques that tap natural gas and oil in shale formations under several states. He accused environmental campaigners of manufacturing fear and blamed lazy journalists for producing stories that scare the public but don't investigate the claims of advocacy groups. The risks of oil and gas drilling are well understood and can be mitigated, he said.
Regarding oil supply, Tillerson highlighted the huge discoveries of oil and gas in North America in recent years, and applauded the global oil industry's ability to deliver fuels during a two-year period of turmoil in the Middle East. Dependence on other nations for oil is not a concern as long as access to supply is certain, he said.
