"We must care enough to take action."

This article originally appeared in the Lamp, 2007 — Number 3

In a speech to prominent business, academic and media leaders at the historic Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London, England, ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson discussed pressing energy-industry topics including climate change.

Tillerson opened with comments on the world’s quickly growing need for energy. Driven by population growth and a strong desire in developing countries for high standards of living, world energy demand will increase by 45 percent by 2030, according to International Energy Agency estimates.

The growing energy demand, he said, has created industry challenges to maintain safe operations, achieve economic growth in developing nations and protect the environment.

Safety is vital
Tillerson explained that safety isn’t just vital for protecting workers, but also drives peak business performance: "Safety and environmental performance are key indicators of our overall business and financial performance. It’s clear to me that the dedication and discipline required to prevent safety incidents are the same qualities required to deliver superior operational and financial results. We’re proud of our performance in these areas."

Economic development a worldwide need
Tillerson added that a critical factor in achieving those results is worldwide economic growth. In prosperous societies, he said, creating economic growth may not seem a pressing need. But in a global context, economic development is desperately needed for many countries to thrive.

In just the last 30 years, Tillerson said, the number of people who have achieved what the United Nations calls "medium development" — a classification based on several health, education and income measures — has more than doubled, from 1.6 billion to 3.5 billion.

"But we are far from our final destination," Tillerson emphasized. "Eighty percent of the world’s 6.5 billion people live in the developing world, and this proportion is growing. Of these, about 1.2 billion live on less than one pound sterling a day.

One billion people lack safe drinking water, 1.6 billion lack electricity, and 2.6 billion lack proper sanitation. Worse still, far too many lack something perhaps more fundamental – hope of a better life for their children. Billions of people in the developing world demand and deserve better."

Addressing global warming
Tillerson spoke with conviction about global warming and ExxonMobil’s continuing efforts on this issue: "The steps we’ve taken since 1999 to improve energy efficiency at our own facilities have resulted in the avoidance of 12 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions last year alone — the equivalent of taking about 2 million U.S. cars off the road.

"We’re partnering with automobile- and commercial-engine manufacturers on R&D programs that could yield fuel economy improvements in internal combustion engines of up to 30 percent with lower emissions."

Tillerson also described a new vehicle technology ExxonMobil is working on with partners in industry and the research community: an on-board hydrogen-powered fuel cell system. This system can convert conventional hydrocarbon fuels, such as gasoline or diesel, into hydrogen for a fuel cell right under a vehicle’s hood. As a result, it could be 80 percent more fuel efficient and emit 45 percent less carbon dioxide than today’s internal combustion engines on a well-to-wheels basis. There is still a long road ahead in developing this technology, and it could be decades before it reaches consumers, Tillerson said. But thanks to groundbreaking work by ExxonMobil and others, hydrogen on-board is one of the many promising vehicle and fuel innovations on the horizon.

Technology is the key
Such technological advances are the lifeblood of the energy industry, Tillerson said. With an annual spend on technology applications and research and development of more than $1 billion, ExxonMobil consistently invests in innovation. These investments have led to breakthroughs in areas such as seismic mapping, directional drilling, safer liquefied natural gas shipping vessels and catalytic refining to reduce pollutants.

Tillerson pointed out that ExxonMobil founded and participates in the Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP) at Stanford University. GCEP involves research institutions worldwide and pioneers efforts to identify technologies that can meet energy demand with dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions. GCEP studies areas such as solar power, hydrogen, biofuels, energy storage, carbon capture and storage, and advanced transportation.

Tillerson concluded his remarks by looking to the future: "Frankly, this conversation is not so much about us as it is about our grandchildren. Indeed, we cannot yet see our grandchildren’s world, its economy or its climate. But we must care about it. We must care enough to take the risks of global poverty and global warming seriously. We must care enough to take action to address them. And we must care enough, as a society, to manage risks and maximize the economic and environmental benefits available to our grandchildren, and theirs."