ExxonMobil has sued the state of California, alleging that two climate change laws infringe on the company’s right to free speech, according to multiple outlets. [emphasis, links added]
The company filed the complaint in the U.S. Eastern District Court for California on Friday, claiming the new laws force it to agree with the state’s viewpoint on climate change, specifically that oil and gas corporations take particular blame, according to Bloomberg.
One of the bills requires large companies doing business with the state to disclose their greenhouse emissions each year.
The second law requires businesses doing more than $500 million with the state to write a report every other year on how climate change could affect their business.
Both laws require ExxonMobil to comply with California’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which the company reportedly claims forces it to take blame for global warming.
“ExxonMobil understands the very real risks associated with climate change and supports continued efforts to address those risks,” the company said in its filing, according to Bloomberg.
“California may believe that companies that meet the statutes’ revenue thresholds are uniquely responsible for climate change, but the First Amendment categorically bars it from forcing ExxonMobil to speak in service of that misguided viewpoint.”
“Truly shocking that one of the biggest polluters on the planet would be opposed to transparency,” a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office told FOX Business. “These laws have already been upheld in court, and we continue to have confidence in them.”
The company also claimed in the filing that one of the state laws conflicted with a federal law that regulates what companies must disclose about climate and financial risks, according to Bloomberg.
Read rest at Fox Business
