Exxon Mobil Gets Subpoena From NY Regarding Climate-Change Research

The New York Times first reported the news earlier on Thursday.

In recent months, Exxon has publicly supported limited climate action, though this support is likely strategic rather than altruistic: An economy-wide tax on carbon emissions, for example, would preferentially benefit oil and gas companies whose emissions per unit of energy are lower than coal companies.

The New York Attorney General has launched an investigation into whether Exxon Mobil misled the public about the risks climate change poses to both to the environment and the oil business itself.

So far, attempts to sue fossil fuel companies for contributing to global warming have failed in court, but they were based on other laws.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenaed the company on Wednesday evening, demanding extensive financial records, emails and other documents, a source familiar with the investigation said on Thursday.

According to the Times, the investigation will also focus on whether the company warned investors about potential financial risks related to the need to limit fossil fuel use.

In a statement, ExxonMobil confirms it is under investigation, and says its executives “unequivocally reject allegations that ExxonMobil suppressed climate change research”.

“If they [the attorneys general] are successful with one company, it could be like a domino effect and be successful with many others”, Garfield said. Goldman Sachs set a $89.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

Numerous environmental groups and elected officials that believe Exxon Mobil should be investigated compare the scenario to the one that wounded tobacco companies in the ’90s after they denied the cancer risks of smoking.

The Department of Justice has been under pressure to investigate the company over these claims, with Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley all supporting calls for an investigation. ExxonMobil said the research was gathered through a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and academics.

Vic Svec, a Peabody senior vice president, said in a statement, Peabody continues to work with the New York attorney generals office regarding our disclosures, which have evolved over the years.