The New York Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Exxon Mobil to comply with a subpoena issued by the state’s attorney general in a fraud investigation.
Exxon Mobil and its outside auditor were ordered to turn over documents to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office as a part of his investigation into whether the company defrauded investors over what it knew about climate change. Schneiderman is investigating the company as part of a pact made with other Democratic attorneys general to use the powers of their office to support climate change policies.
Exxon Mobil had been withholding documents, asserting accountant-client privilege under Texas law between the oil giant and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, its auditor. The state supreme court did not find that argument valid and said New York law trumps Texas law in the case.
“We are pleased with the court’s order and look forward to moving full-steam ahead with our fraud investigation of Exxon,” Schneiderman said. “Exxon had no legal basis to interfere with PwC’s production, and I hope that today’s order serves as a wake-up call to Exxon that the best thing they can do is cooperate with, rather than resist, our investigation.”
Exxon Mobil has been under siege since the publication of a report in the Los Angeles Times and Inside Climate News last year. The report said the company knew in July 1977 that carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels would warm the planet. After 10 years of exploring the problem, Exxon Mobil — then just Exxon — decided to actively support researchers who would refute global warming.
According to the report, the company learned in 1977 from a senior scientist that burning fossil fuels would warm Earth. A year later, the company began researching how carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels would affect the planet.
In 1982, the company prepared an internal document on carbon dioxide and climate change that said “major reduction” in fossil fuel use would be needed to avoid catastrophic events. While that was circulating, Exxon Mobil didn’t tell regulators about the findings.
Six years after the internal document was produced, Exxon Mobil went on the offensive, according to the report. The company began paying for efforts that would cast doubt on climate change, including founding the Global Climate Coalition.
Exxon Mobil officials have denied the allegations raised in the report on multiple occasions since its publication last year.
