A lawsuit by the state of Massachusetts accusing ExxonMobil of misleading the public about climate change could continue, according to the state’s top court. The Massachusetts Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an ExxonMobil bid to dismiss the lawsuit.
The case, filed in 2019 by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, alleges that Exxon launched an effort, “reminiscent of the tobacco industry’s long campaign to deny the dangerous effects of cigarettes,” to mislead consumers and investors on climate change.
A lower court ruling previously rejected the company’s argument that a state law protected it from the lawsuit. The state Supreme Court upheld the ruling on Tuesday.
A phone call was left asking for comments from Exxon, which has denied spreading misinformation about the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming. The company has called above claims that try to hold her responsible for climate change misinformation “unfounded and without merit.”
“Eco-washing campaigns”
Lawsuits against fossil fuel companies have proliferated in recent years as more research emerges documenting their role in challenging the science of climate change.
Research has shown overwhelmingly that the burning of oil, gas and coal contributes to warming the Earth’s atmosphere and destabilizing the climate, with catastrophic results that include increased flooding, extreme weather and more frequent heat waves.
When research became widely known in the 1980s and 1990s, groups funded by the oil and gas industry worked to question the role of fossil fuels and human activity in general in climate change. That’s even though oil companies ’internal research supported the link between fossil fuel emissions and global warming.
Now, there are more than two dozen cities and states suing these companies on its role in clouding science.
The Massachusetts lawsuit says Exxon was involved in a “sophisticated, multimillion-dollar campaign” to sow doubts about climate science and minimize the link between fossil fuels and climate change. The lawsuit says Exxon also undertook “green wash campaigns” in an effort to present itself as environmentally responsible.
“Instead of honestly revealing and mitigating the risks of climate change, ExxonMobil’s misrepresentations about these risks and failures to disclose these risks have delayed the necessary transition to clean energy worldwide and are that these climate-driven existential threats to the global economy are more likely to occur, ”he said. says the complaint.
Healey described the court ruling as a “resounding victory” in the state’s efforts to “prevent Exxon from lying to investors and consumers.”
“Exxon’s repeated attempts to close our lawsuit have been unfounded, and that effort was no different,” it said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our case and having our day in court to show how Exxon is breaking the law and ending the deception once and for all,” it said in a statement.
“The reality and risks of climate change”
At a hearing in Congress last year, Exxon CEO Darren Woods told lawmakers that his public statements about the climate “are and always have been true” and that Exxon “has long acknowledged the reality. and the risks of climate change “and” has devoted significant resources to addressing these risks. “
Exxon’s lawyers argued in court documents that the company’s statements on climate change and energy policy were “protected petition activity,” even if they were made to defend the company’s reputation.
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But the higher court said the law that Exxon claimed should protect the company in this case does not apply to government enforcement actions filed by the attorney general.
It is the last turn of the battle for years between Massachusetts and Exxon. The company previously unsuccessfully sued Massachusetts in an effort to block Healey’s research on Exxon and climate change.
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