Climate Change Regulation Through Litigation: New York’s Investigation of ExxonMobil under the Martin Act

By ​Chris Erickson
Chris Erickson is a student at University of Michigan Law School and is a Junior Editor of the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law. Chris can be reached at cerick@umich.edu. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). Please leave any comments on the original post, which can be found here.

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​In November 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman began an investigation into whether ExxonMobil made public statements about climate change that conflicted with its own internal research.[1] Schneiderman issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil ordering production of documents related to its internal climate change research and the use of that research in making strategic decisions.[2] This investigation differentiates itself from previous climate change litigation by attempting to hold companies responsible for their contributions to climate change using laws unrelated to climate change. If New York is successful in its investigation, it could signal a new wave of climate change litigation centered on issues tangentially related to climate change.
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