ExxonMobil is signaling a change in how they message their climate policies. The company’s recent disclosures have replaced old terms like “net-zero” and “carbon capture” with “molecule management.” To this point, the company’s efforts to cash in on Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act subsidies for carbon capture and storage have largely been unsuccessful. ExxonMobil’s expertise and competitive advantage has always been in oil and gas. This terminology change is an absurd attempt to rebrand the company so that CCS can somehow fit into its portfolio. According to Exxon’s report on Low Carbon Solutions:
With our expertise in molecule management, we are positioned to scale a portfolio of lower emissions energy solutions through our Low Carbon Solutions (LCS) business…
Our work involves technologies to capture, transport, and store molecules; produce hydrogen from other molecules; and source and co-process lower-carbon-intensity molecules. All of these technologies align with the competitive advantages we’ve built in our traditional businesses…
Our ability to manage molecules aligns with our core competencies in the low-carbon space. We have the necessary scale and infrastructure to bring these technologies to market, spurring innovation and reducing the cost of GHG emissions reduction.
In recent years, American corporations have made a habit of rewording or rebranding their unpopular left-wing policies to continue implementing them under a different name. Global warming has become climate change. ESG has become “conscientious capitalism.” Many companies still practice DEI under different names. “Molecular management” and its synonyms are the newest buzzwords, and potentially the most ridiculous. New terminology cannot change that carbon capture and storage projects are a waste of ExxonMobil’s shareholder resources.
This week, we at NLPC heard the same term in a meeting we had with a large Wall Street bank, which they used to refer to their financing policies for the energy industry. Watch for “molecules” to circulate further through Corporate America!
