WASHINGTON (January 7, 2019)—The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected ExxonMobil’s appeal to block Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s investigation into whether the company violated Massachusetts’s consumer and shareholder protection laws by misleading the public about fossil fuel emissions causing climate change.
Below is a statement by Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“ExxonMobil’s Hail Mary pass to block the Massachusetts attorney general’s investigation has failed. Attorney General Healey clearly has the right to pursue her investigation and reveal the truth about ExxonMobil’s actions. With this ruling, this long-delayed investigation will finally go forward, and yield the truth about what this company knew, when it knew it and why its public statements seem to be at odds with information provided by the company’s own scientists.
“Journalists and nonprofit organizations have turned up documents showing that decades ago Exxon knew that fossil fuel emissions were causing climate change. Instead of acknowledging the problem, the company spent millions of dollars on a campaign to confuse the public about global warming’s causes and countless hours lobbying against state and federal policies that sought to limit emissions. In fighting to protect its profits, ExxonMobil misled its shareholders and the public about the harm its products were causing.
“New York’s attorney general is now suing ExxonMobil for defrauding shareholders by downplaying climate change risks to its business, and communities across the country are filing lawsuits to seek compensation from ExxonMobil and other major fossil fuel producers toward covering the costs of battling the climate impacts that could have been avoided were it not for this industry’s irresponsible actions.”