New York sues Exxon Mobil alleging climate-change deception

New York state attorney general Barbara Underwood has filed a lawsuit against oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, alleging that the company misled its investors about the financial risks that global warming posed to its business.

The state filed suit on 24 October, more than three years after the attorney general’s office began investigating ExxonMobil’s practices. The lawsuit alleges that the company told investors that it was taking into consideration the impact that potential climate-change regulations could have on future demand for fossil fuels. But the company either used low estimates of those costs or failed to consider them at all in business activities such as evaluating its oil and gas reserves and assessing demand for its products in the transportation sector.

The lawsuit also alleges that ExxonMobil’s senior management was aware of these activities.

ExxonMobil has publicly supported efforts such as the Paris climate agreement, and the lawsuit doesn’t accuse the company of playing a part in global warming. But the New York investigation has garnered support from other state attorneys general and sparked similar inquiries, including in Massachusetts.

The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.