Former oil executive resigns from bank board
WASHINGTON — Lee Raymond, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil who led a campaign to discredit climate science, has resigned from the board of JP Morgan Chase, the bank said Friday.
The move comes as JP Morgan and other financial institutions are moving to decrease their investments in the fossil fuel industry and come under increasing pressure from investors to address climate change.
Raymond, the lead independent director of the bank, had recently fallen under attack by environmentalists who saw his position as evidence of JP Morgan’s commitment to fossil fuels. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank did not offer any explanation for Raymond’s resignation, saying only it was not, “the result of any disagreement with the company.”
Raymond could not be reached for comment.
Raymond ran Exxon for more than a decade beginning in 1993 and gained a reputation as a shrewd but cantankerous executive who saw the threat climate regulation posed to his business.
He fought diligently to undermine scientific research into the connection between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
The former CEO’s departure from JP Morgan was taken by some climate activists as a sign his politics had become incompatible with the bank’s new approach on climate change. Earlier this year, the bank said it would set emissions reduction targets for the various industries it invests in, including oil and gas.
“Make no mistake, Raymond quitting is a direct result of pressure from shareholder champions,” Richard Brooks, a senior campaign strategist at the activist group 350.org, said in a statement.
Raymond’s departure comes as American corporations grow increasingly vocal about their commitment to fighting climate change.
A movement to reduce emissions that began with technology companies such as Google and Facebook has now spread across industries. Even oil companies are pledging to get their operations to net zero emissions by mid-century.
Raymond’s old employer, Exxon Mobil, announced earlier this week it planned to reduce emissions from its oil and gas drilling operations by at least 15 percent by 2025 and would end the practice of “routine flaring” from its oil wells by 2030.
“We respect and support society’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and continue to advocate for policies that promote cost-effective, marketbased solutions to address the risks of climate change,” said Exxon CEO Darren Woods.