Exxon Mobil accuses the Rockefellers of a climate conspiracy against it

New York

EXXON Mobil, under fire over its past efforts to undercut climate science, is accusing the Rockefeller family of masterminding a conspiracy against it. Yes, that Rockefeller family.

The company, which has been accused of scheming to pay surrogates to deny the threat of climate change, is trying to turn the tables by calling its opponents the real conspirators. It is fighting state attorneys general, journalists and environmental groups in an all-out campaign to defend its image.

But the oil and gas giant has directed some of its fiercest fire at the descendants of John D Rockefeller, who in 1870 founded Standard Oil, the company that became Exxon Mobil. Rockefell…