Climate science research conducted by Exxon in the 1970s accurately predicted the pace and severity of global warming, despite a decades-long effort from the company to dismiss human-driven climate change, and the science underpinning it, according to a new study.

A trove of internal documents and research papers has previously established that Exxon, now known as ExxonMobil, knew of the dangers of global warming from at least the 1970s, with other oil industry bodies knowing of the risk even earlier, from around the 1950s.

The study was published in the journal 'Science' and is the first to examine the performance of Exxon's internal climate modeling as well as its scientists' collaborations with outside researchers. It provides a quantitative assessment of how much the company's executives may have known about the risks of burning oil and gas and when.

Geoffrey Supran, who led the analysis conducted by researchers from Harvard University and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said it was "breathtaking" to see Exxon's projections line up so closely with what subsequently happened.

In conversation with the Guardian, Supran noted that "This really does sum up what Exxon knew, years before many of us were born."

"We now have the smoking gun showing that they accurately predicted warming years before they started attacking the science. These graphs confirm the complicity of what Exxon knew and how they misled."

According to the study, between 63% and 83% of the climate projections reported by Exxon scientists were accurate in predicting subsequent global warming.

The Exxon scientists' projections showed the world would warm at a rate of about 0.20 degrees Celsius per decade, which was in line with independent academic and government studies in the 1970s through the early 2000s.

According to the study, Exxon's research also led to an accurate estimate of how much carbon dioxide could be emitted before the world would warm by more than 2°C.

These findings are important because ExxonMobil and the larger fossil fuel industry face lawsuits nationwide, claiming they misled the public on the harmful effects of their products.

ExxonMobil has not publicly addressed the findings of the study but issued a statement prior to the release of the research.

"This issue has come up several times in recent years and, in each case, our answer is the same: those who talk about how 'Exxon Knew' are wrong in their conclusions," wrote ExxonMobil spokesman Todd Spitler in a statement.

The #ExxonKnew campaign has gained traction on social media, a display of public consciousness that harks back to decades-long battles between major oil companies and climate activists.

"ExxonMobil's understanding of climate science has developed along with that of the broader scientific community," said Spitler in the statement. He said "well intended, internal policy debates" have been recast by some "as an attempted company disinformation campaign."

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