Darren Woods strides down the long linoleum halls of ExxonMobil's research center in Clinton, New Jersey. Named Exxon's CEO in January 2017, the tall 53-year-old electrical engineer is comfortable here in this nerds' paradise, nestled safely on 750 bucolic acres, behind gates, armed guards and X-ray scanners. Exxon's legions of scientists, including the 300 based in New Jersey, are spending $1 billion a year trying to solve one of the greatest challenges of our time: how to reduce emissions while supplying ever more energy to a world Exxon expects to grow to 9 billion people by mid-century. Woods agreed to meet Forbes here for an exclusive interview, thousands of miles from Exxon's executive God Pod outside Dallas. The point is to stress that he gets it—carbon dioxide really does threaten to disrupt the global climate. "We understand the risk and that it needs to be addressed," Woods says. "We're sincere in that. We believe that."
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