Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2020
Minnesota sues Exxon, API and Koch Industries over climate change claims
Lawsuit filed
Minnesota's attorney general filed a lawsuit against Exxon, the American Petroleum Institute and Koch Industries, alleging that they deceived the public about climate change. The suit brought claims including fraud, deceptive trade practices and false advertising. Exxon and API disputed the allegations in statements.
Minnesota’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against Exxon, the American Petroleum Institute and Koch Industries, alleging that they deceived the public about climate change and bringing claims including fraud, deceptive trade practices and false advertising. Exxon and API disputed the allegations in statements.
Company response
Denial — Exxon
“Legal proceedings like this waste millions of dollars of taxpayer money and do nothing to advance meaningful actions that reduce the risks of climate change,” Exxon said in a statement, quoted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Denial — American Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute said that the oil and gas industry has over the past two decades provided “affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint. Any suggestion to the contrary is false.”
Denial — Exxon
Exxon spokesman Casey Norton called the lawsuit “part of a coordinated, politically motivated campaign against energy companies.”
Denial — API
“Any suggestion to the contrary is false,” said API Chief Legal Officer Paul Afonso.
Source excerpt
The Attorney General of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against Exxon, the American Petroleum Institute, and Koch Industries, alleging they spent decades deceiving the public about climate change.
“The fraud, deceptive advertising, and other violations of Minnesota state law and common law that the lawsuit shows they perpetrated have harmed Minnesotans’ health and our state’s environment, infrastructure, and economy,” Ellison said, as quoted by Reuters.
The charges, brought against the companies and API by AG Keith Ellison, include fraud, deceptive trade practices, and false statements in advertising, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.