"Mobil's Chief Executive Warned of CO2 From Oil Sands Fuels in 1982"

"Concerned that carbon-heavy fuels would speed up global warming, the CEO put his trust in the United Nations and federal scientists to point the way to solutions."

"The CEO of Mobil Corporation warned in 1982 that burning Canadian oil sands fuels could lead to a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with calamitous effects. His concerns provide further evidence that oil industry executives were aware of the climate impact of their products decades ago, and of the dangers of exploiting unconventional reserves with a higher carbon footprint.

Mobil's chief executive, Rawleigh Warner, Jr., took notice of the increasing production of tar sands, oil shales and liquefied coal in an article published by the United Nations Environment Program. He was writing 15 years after Suncor Energy began producing oil sands from the first large-scale mine in Alberta, and less than a decade after the Arab oil embargo propelled industry to search for alternative fuels.

"The switch to heavier fossil fuels has already caused much popular concern, primarily seen in some nations' fear of the effects of acid rain," he wrote, "and the general fear that excessive use of these fuels may so build up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that the earth's temperature may increase, with some disastrous consequences."

Lisa Song reports for InsideClimate News May 9, 2016.