A company like Exxon may legally lie to the American public, but lying to stockholders is a punishable offense. Exxon has been studying global warming since the 1980s, including the melting of Arctic ice, which might affect the company’s oil drilling operations. The company knew the climate was changing.
However, in 1999 Exxon CEO Lee Raymond told shareholders that climate change was “sheer speculation.”
Now the Attorney Generals of California and New York have launched probes to see whether Exxon’s lies to stockholders are actionable. New York law allows the AG to investigate deceitful statements to shareholders whether or not they were harmed.
We know from Big Tobacco just how far companies will go to protect their interests, whether or not they harm their customers, or in the case of Exxon, the future of the planet itself.
For more info on Exxon, see the article by Jason Mark, “Big Oil in the Hot Seat,” Sierra (May/June 2016), pp. 28-29.
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