Energy Giant Hid Studies Connecting Products to Climate Change
Not disclosing such information violates the state of Massachusetts’s consumer investor protection laws.
By Cami Toronto, Communications —
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas corporation. According to Ring of Fire, a progressive news site, the lawsuit alleges ExxonMobil has been aware for decades about their products’ substantial role in accelerating climate change. The lawsuit further clarifies that ExxonMobil chose not to disclose relevant studies regarding this topic because of the damaging impact it might have on the company’s profits. Not disclosing such information violates the state of Massachusetts’s consumer investor protection laws.
Withholding Information From Investors
ExxonMobil intentionally withheld information from state investors and consumers about its potential effect on the environment to increase profits, stock value and capital access. This missing information could have impacted decisions made about investing, purchasing and selling ExxonMobil products and the company itself. These studies have been accessible to Exxon executives since the late 1970s, along with the knowledge that if the company did nothing to reduce gas emissions, it (according to climate change supporters) would have a potentially dramatic and possibly irreversible impact on the global environment. Exxon will probably end up paying dearly for this deception and has certainly lost the trust of key consumer audiences.
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