ExxonMobil Under Investigation for Climate Denial: Greenpeace Response

In response to the news that New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil, demanding extensive records and documents to determine if the company lied to the public about the risks of climate change, Annie Leonard, Executive Director of Greenpeace USA, said:

"This subpoena on ExxonMobil is groundbreaking news. The oil giant's ongoing public climate denial is something that should concern us all, and has rightfully attracted the attention of the country's judicial watch dogs. New York Attorney General Schneiderman is leading the charge to further expose the hypocrisy of fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil and hold them accountable for denying climate change to the public and blocking necessary action for decades.

"New York has taken the first step, now other Attorneys General should follow suit to protect the rights of the American people against big polluters from lying to them about climate change and its impacts on our communities. The door is now open for the Department of Justice to initiate a federal investigation, as people have repeatedly called for on different fronts."

The New York Times also reported that Peabody Energy, the largest coal mining company in the U.S., has "been under investigation by the attorney general for two years over whether it properly disclosed financial risks related to climate change."

Greenpeace has documented ExxonMobil's funding of climate denial organizations for over a decade at www.exxonsecrets.org/