Exxon, Mobil Merger Concerns EDF

The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is concerned about Exxon Corp.'s $74 billion acquisition of Mobil Corp. Fred Krupp, EDF executive director, says both companies have worked against efforts to control global warming, and have opposed the Kyoto climate-change protocol signed by at least 60 nations. "This merger is not just about market share and the price of stocks. It's about our shared environment and the price that the Exxon-Mobil merger may exact from our future," says Krupp. "It's troubling to see that the world's biggest oil company will be made up of big opponents of greenhouse gas reduction." Krupp says the merger will have wide-ranging environmental impacts. "Protecting the earth from global climate change, protecting our oceans, coastal areas, and wildlife from oil spills, and the need to minimize the ecological impacts of oil exploration are all matters of great concern when considering the merger."