The attorney general of the state of New York filed a lawsuit this week claiming ExxonMobil misled investors about the dangers of man-made climate change, but one industry expert argues that this is merely an attempt to make energy the new tobacco.
Attorney General Barbara Underwood (D-N.Y.) claims that Exxon courted investors – such as the state’s public pension funds – with inaccurate information.
It should be noted that New York’s lawsuit comes just months after the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped an investigation of its own.
United States District Judge William Alsup – a Bill Clinton appointee – also dismissed lawsuits this year brought by San Francisco and Oakland against big oil companies including, Exxon Mobil.
Chris Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) delved further into the issue:
“I have to sympathize with the statement made by the Exxon Mobil spokesman, which was to point out something we’ve been principally responsible for revealing to the public and that is, their quote was: ‘These baseless allegations are the product of closed-door lobbying by special interests, political opportunism and the attorney general’s inability to admit that its three-year investigation has covered no wrongdoing,’” Horner pointed out.
He went on to say that climate change activists are trying to make energy the next tobacco.
“It’s a fairly broad statement, but the thrust of that was this is the product of lobbying by plaintiffs’ attorneys who very helpfully laid out a roadmap, including a cry for help for a single sympathetic attorney general to begin subpoenaing private entities’ records so the plaintiffs’ attorneys with their donors and green group activists that they were advising could make energy the next tobacco and obtain something larger than the settlement that was obtained in the tobacco litigation because energy, of course, plays a much larger role in our economy,” Horner explained.
To put it in perspective, Horner calls this an absolute abuse of law enforcement powers.
“There are several dangerous precedents that – if this goes forward and succeeds – we’ll see,” Horner assured.
The Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) agrees with Horner, calling these cases “nuisance lawsuits.”
Writing about Judge William Alsup’s decision in July, attorney and IWF Senior Fellow Jennifer Braceras stated that issues such as climate change are simply too complex to be addressed by the courts in an adversary system, and she maintained that courts must defer to the other co-equal branches of government to solve them.
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The Democrats have been misleading the nation the various Eco-Wacko groups like the NRDC,SIERRA CLUB,GREENPEACE,EDF,FREINDS of the EARTH Etc as well as Leonardo DiCaprio,Laurie David David Suzuki,Al Gore,Barack Obama,Robert Kennedy Jr,Etc have been misleading us for years about this Global Climate Change Hoax and we have been pour too much monkey down the Green Rat Hole and the IPCC and the UN as well
We could set the entire surface of the Earth on fire and douse it with gasoline and it won’t make a single bit of difference on local, regional or global climate. The whackery about carbon dioxide being a pollutant or a GHG (beyonds its nominal effect under current conditions) cannot render the products ExxonMobil markets as being in any way harmful to the environment or human health. We can shift the argument to the potential hazards of actual dirty exhausts, but that issue has already been well put to rest.
These suits are simply the result of greedy NY government colluding with activists. Since when do they have the right to behave like a special counsel? Bloomberg is also funding these activities in other states where the ethics of state officials are nonexistent. Every time a corp surrenders to these criminals the AGs claim to have “won one for the people”. They are nothing but thieves! We must remember one important thing–“the customer pays for everything”. Like it or not every consumer buys diesel fuel, jet fuel, gasoline and electricity because that’s how goods are transported and stored.
They don’t have the right to behave like a special counsel. With Bloomberg funding these activities in other states that is conspiracy. At the minimum the oil companies should be able to sue but unfortunately they don’t seem to be interested in a counter attack. It might be possible to prosecute Bloomberg and others for conspiracy.
If anyone ever blocks access to a pump like the idiot in the photo when I go to get gas I’m calling 911.
I did not know NY State was an Exxon shareholder . Funny how this works .
If New York as a shareholder of Exxon knew fossil fuels were causing the earth to have a fever then why didn’t New York stop Con Edison from using all fossil fuels decades ago ?
Hmm … Lets be honest New York is looking for some sucker to pick up their check
incurred by accumulating a massive pile of never to be repaid debt and pension plans that are effectively bust . Nice Hail Mary but it is doomed to fail .
The theme song for these AG for New York should be MONEY THAT’S WHAT I WANT by Brett Strong