Attorney General William Tong has filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, accusing the energy giant of violating the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by deceiving the public over the role that burning fossil fuels play in climate change.
The lawsuit alleged that both Exxon and Mobil were aware of the link between fossil fuels and global warming when they were separate entities before their 1999 merger. Tong cited historical internal memos dating back to the 1950s and pointed out Exxon advertising campaigns in the 1980s that highlighted the company”™s alleged role in working to combat climate change.
The Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act has no statute of limitations. Tong said that Connecticut will need to spend billions of dollars to adapt to the changes created by global warming and blamed ExxonMobil for failing to alert the state of the damages it had brought about.
According to a statement issued by Tong”™s office, the lawsuit seeks “relief in the form of remediation for past, present and future harm from climate change, restitution for investments already made due to climate change, disgorgement of corporate profits, civil penalties, disclosure of all climate research, establishment of a third-party controlled education fund and an immediate end to the false and misleading information that ExxonMobil has been disseminating for years.”
“ExxonMobil sold oil and gas, but it also sold lies about climate science,” Tong said. “ExxonMobil knew that continuing to burn fossil fuels would have a significant impact on the environment, public health and our economy. Yet it chose to deceive the public. No more.”
ExxonMobil did not publicly comment on the lawsuit.
Looks like Tong is shaping up to be as bat-sh*t-crazy as Blumenthal was when he held the AG position. Must be something in the water up in Hartford.