On November 29, 2019, Exxon Mobil Corporation removed Massachusetts’s enforcement action alleging that Exxon misled investors and consumers regarding climate change risks and its products’ impacts on climate change to federal district court in Massachusetts. Exxon contended that the Massachusetts attorney general—in conjunction with “plaintiffs’ attorneys, climate activists, and special interests”—was engaged in a plan “to force a political and regulatory agenda that has not otherwise materialized through the legislative process.” Exxon said the enforcement action was not properly brought under state law and instead sought “to wade into complex federal statutory, regulatory, and constitutional issues and frameworks, and to substitute one state’s judgment for that of longstanding decisions by the federal government about national and international energy policy and environmental protection.” Exxon asserted that it was necessary for the case to be heard in federal court because the Commonwealth’s claims necessarily raised disputed and substantial issues concerning international climate change policy and the balance between environmental policy and economic development. In addition, Exxon argued that the case arose under federal common law because it was “inherently premised on interstate pollution that causes environmental harm in the form of global warming” and therefore implicated “uniquely federal interests and should be governed by federal common law.” In addition, Exxon said the case satisfied the requirements of the federal officer removal statute because federal officials directed Exxon to engage in the extraction and production of fossil fuels, the activities that “constitute the crux” of the State’s complaint. In addition, Exxon asserted that the case qualified for removal under the Class Action Fairness Act.

Action by Massachusetts attorney general asserting that Exxon Mobil Corporation committed deceptive practices against Massachusetts investors and consumers, including by failing to disclose climate change risks.

Massachusetts v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

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Exxon Said Massachusetts Climate Change Enforcement Action Belonged in Federal Court

Filed

United States of America

Massachusetts

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A loan is a policy instrument where funds are provided to a borrower with the expectation of repaying the principal plus interest.

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Exxon Said Massachusetts Climate Change Enforcement Action Belonged in Federal Court

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance