Indeed that is the conspiracy theory where they have undue influence on the profit seeking behaviors of utility companies, financial entities, municipalities, a

Indeed that is the conspiracy theory where they have undue influence on the profit seeking behaviors of utility companies, financial entities, municipalities, and otherwise private individuals with sufficient capital. However, what most don't know is that the big money (in terms of EBITDA) in the fossil fuel industry is in downstream services, plastics and other carbon products derived from oil. This accounts for around 80.1% of Exxon's Revenue[1] and even more in profit. The goal for Exxon is to reduce reliance of energy from oil to reduce the cost of crude oil and maintain the sticky margins of plastics. It's for this reason that Exxon has always been in the forefront in carbon economies and taxes [2]. Energy is instead one of the worst businesses to be in, a low-margin commodity, with ever-decreasing margins. [1] https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/16/how-exxonmobil-strikes-the-right-balance-in-rocky.aspx https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/16/how-exxonmobil-str... [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/09/exxon-mobil-pledges-1-million-to-campaign-to-promote-carbon-tax.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/09/exxon-mobil-pledges-1-millio...