ExxonMobil has an open access repository of documents on climate science

peter.suber's bookmarks 2016-08-12

Summary:

"ExxonMobil has an #openaccess repository of documents showing its "history and commitment to open research into climate science."

http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/current-issues/climate-policy/climate-perspectives/supporting-materials

It's not big: just 22 documents so far, mostly from the 70's and 80's. 

Apparently the company shared the docs in order to answer charges that it suppressed its own early discoveries about the connection between carbon emissions and climate change. "In the interest of transparency, soon after the [charges] appeared, ExxonMobil established on online repository of these documents so that readers could more easily access and examine them in their entirety."

http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/current-issues/climate-policy/climate-perspectives/understanding-the-exxonknew-controversy

While the docs are open now, I don't believe were open at the time. Hence, while it's good to be able to read them now, I'm not sure how they answer the criticism that the company suppressed them at the time.

The company also points to a list of 50 peer-reviewed articles that its scientists published on climate science from 1983 to the present. I haven't checked, but it seems that all or most of them are paywalled. (Publishing in a paywalled journal is not open, but neither is it suppression in the sense intended by the critics.)

http://cdn.exxonmobil.com/~/media/global/files/energy-and-environment/climate_peer_reviewed_publications_1980s_forward.pdf

I have no opinion on the charges against Exxon, or on whether the open docs fairly represent what the company knew about climate change in the 70's and 80's. (What do climate scientists have to say about that?) But I definitely support #openaccess as a key part of any response to this kind of criticism. More sunshine! "

Link:

https://plus.google.com/+PeterSuber/posts/7nWibc1PpeG

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » peter.suber's bookmarks

Tags:

oa.new oa.industry oa.geo oa.climate

Date tagged:

08/12/2016, 17:26

Date published:

08/12/2016, 13:26