ExxonMobil is planning a public-relations offensive to counter an international boycott campaign that is calling attention to the company’s opposition to the Kyoto treaty on climate change. The campaign, which began in the U.K. and has spread to Germany, Norway, and New Zealand, has gained momentum as U.S. President Bush, a former oilman himself, has continued to speak out against Kyoto. A spokesman for ExxonMobil in the U.K. said, “The main thing for us is to put over the facts.” The company has begun testing a survey that asks respondents whether they are aware that “the slight warming that has occurred in the last 50 years is likely the result of natural climate variations rather than energy use.” And that the Kyoto treaty “would have little effect on global warming because it excludes many countries which are among the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.”
