New York has filed a lawsuit against oil company Exxon Mobil, accused of having misled its shareholders about the negative consequences of global warming.
No one, not even the richest companies on the planet, can afford to downplay the problem of global warming: Barbara Underwood, Attorney General of New York, has filed a lawsuit against oil company Exxon Mobil for having defrauded its shareholders about the consequences of climate change. After years of investigation, the lawyer working on behalf of the American state has filed her complaint, which could not only cost the petrol producer millions of dollars in fines, but will certainly damage its reputation.
According to Underwood's team, over the years Exxon assured its shareholders that it was studying methods and solutions to continue growing economically despite the latest news on global warming, which takes it as a given that the excessive use of oil is one of the main causes of the Earth's fever. Even though the complaint currently concerns only the financial aspects of the matter (Exxon Mobil could risk having to reimburse certain investors, while the value of its stock market shares has already fallen), an even darker future looms for oil companies. Much as happened to the tobacco industry in the past, petrol producers could be sued and held liable for failing to clearly inform the public of the damage caused to the planet — and consequently to its inhabitants — by their business model.
As written by Attorney Underwood in various tweets, "Exxon built a wall of deception to mislead investors into believing that the company was managing the risks of climate change regulation in its business when, in reality, it intentionally and systematically underestimated or ignored them, despite public statements to the contrary."
In previous years, Exxon Mobil had openly spoken about the risks of global warming, acknowledging its existence and declaring itself ready to invest money in an attempt to address the problem and cause less harm. In reality, however, the oil company did none of this, continuing to fund pro-oil political lobbies. At last, thanks to the intervention of the state of New York, which has already demonstrated its worth in environmental cases in the past, a door has been opened onto the role of multinational oil companies in the damage done to the Earth — companies that until now have been considered almost untouchable.