Press Releases
December 10, 2019
New York — Today, a New York state court ruled in favor of ExxonMobil in a case filed by the New York Attorney General against the company for investor fraud.
Judge Barry Ostrager ruled that the Office of the Attorney General failed to prove that ExxonMobil violated two state laws, but made clear that the decision did not exonerate the company from responsibility for climate damages. In his decision, Judge Ostrager wrote:
"Nothing in this opinion is intended to absolve ExxonMobil from responsibility for contributing to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases in the production of its fossil fuel products. ExxonMobil does not dispute either that its operations produce greenhouse gases or that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change. But ExxonMobil is in the business of producing energy, and this is a securities fraud case, not a climate change case."
Richard Wiles, executive director of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:
“The ruling does not absolve Exxon for its decisive role in contributing to climate change, and it leaves untouched more than a dozen lawsuits seeking to make Big Oil pay their fair share of the multibillion climate-related damages that they knowingly helped create.
“Exxon knew its products caused ‘potentially catastrophic’ climate change 50 years ago, and instead of doing the right thing, lied about it to the public, media, and Congress. Those facts are backed up by incriminating internal documents and sworn congressional testimony from former Exxon scientists and consultants, and they represent damning evidence in the other cases seeking to hold Big Oil accountable for the costs of climate change.
“Exxon may have won this battle but they’re going to lose the war. They knew, they lied, and the people will hold them accountable.”
Background:
During the New York trial, Exxon admitted that it maintained what amounts to two sets of books for assessing climate risks: One that it showed to outside investors that made the risks appear negligible, and another to guide internal decision making that more accurately assessed the risks.
Last month, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a sweeping investor and consumer fraud case against the oil giant. Building on Exxon's well-documented 30 years of disinformation on climate change, Healey presented an even broader body of evidence documenting Exxon's persistent problem with the truth when it comes to the climate crisis.
New York City is one of the local and state governments currently suing Exxon and other fossil fuel companies over their role in creating climate change.