US States Team Up to Nail Big Oil for Climate ‘Fraud’
Legal experts say oil companies could face billions of dollars in liabilities.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman a press event Tuesday to announce a multi-state legal probe into climate denial. At left is former US vice president Al Gore. Photo provided by the New York State Attorney press office.
If the oil giants lose, their total liabilities could run into the billions or even trillions of dollars, according to some legal experts, and Canadian energy firms may not be immune.
Flanked by Al Gore, five U.S. state attorneys generals took to a podium Tuesday to join New York’s legal battle against alleged climate denial by big oil companies, such as ExxonMobil.
“The first amendment, ladies and gentlemen, doesn’t give you the right to commit fraud,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
“We have heard the scientists. We know what’s happening to the planet. There is dispute, but there is confusion — and confusion sowed by those with an interest in profiting from the confusion, and creating misperceptions in the eyes of the American public that really need to be cleared up,” he added.
A total of 17 state attorneys general agreed to coordinate their investigations against ExxonMobil and other giant oil firms suspected of suppressing the risks of climate change for decades from their shareholders and the American public.
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