NY attorney general subpoenas Exxon for climate change docs

New York’s attorney general is investigating allegations that ExxonMobil Corp. lied to the public about its knowledge of climate change.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued an extensive subpoena to Exxon late Wednesday seeking various documents related to its climate work, Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri said.

{mosads}Schneiderman’s investigation was spurred by a recent series by InsideClimate News and The Los Angeles Times.

The publications alleged that Exxon had extensive research about the risks that climate change poses to the planet and to its own oil and natural gas business as early as the 1970s but later tried to sow doubt about climate science.

The New York Times first reported Schneiderman’s probe Thursday.

His probe is based on New York’s Martin Act, which gives the state wide authority to investigate financial fraud, including whether Exxon’s statements to investors and the public conflicted with its internal views, the Times said.

Exxon has consistently denied the allegations.

“We unequivocally reject allegations that ExxonMobil suppressed climate change research contained in media reports that are inaccurate distortions of ExxonMobil’s nearly 40-year history of climate research that was conducted publicly in conjunction with the Department of Energy, academics and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” Silvestri said.

The company is considering how it will respond to the subpoena, he added.

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have all called for the Justice Department to launch an investigation into Exxon’s climate statements, as have multiple congressional Democrats.