ExxonMobil is being investigated by the New York state attorney general as to whether it misled investors and the public about the risk of climate change and how it might have affected the company.
According to reports, a subpoena was set to the oil company earlier this week, requesting emails, financial records and other documents.
The investigation could look at ExxonMobil’s activities from as far back as the 1970s till this year.
It is likely to include an investigation into occasions when ExxonMobil is alleged to have funded groups which criticised research done in support of climate change.
The investigation by Scheiderman’s office is looking at whether ExxonMobil made adequate disclosures to investors about the risks related to the “push the limit” use of fossil fuels.
The company’s disclosures on climate change impact to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are also being assessed.
Last month a US senator called for the Department of Justice to investigate an alleged fraud by ExxonMobil over what it knew and told the public about the cause of climate change.
ExxonMobil said it had received a subpoena and was now considering its response.
A spokesman said: “We unequivocally reject allegations that ExxonMobil suppressed climate change research contained in media reports that are inaccurate distortions of ExxonMobil’s nearly 40-
year history of climate research that was conducted publicly in conjunction with the Department of Energy, academics and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”
Recommended for you
