In the lawsuit brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts against Exxon Mobil Corporation (Exxon) under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, the Massachusetts Superior Court granted the Commonwealth’s motion to compel production by the consulting company McKinsey & Company, Inc. of two documents related to McKinsey’s 2017 engagement to assess Exxon’s corporate risks and its 2019 engagement to assist with development of a corporate framework for sustainability. The documents were (1) a draft presentation that contained comments from an Exxon in-house attorney and (2) McKinsey’s notes from interviews with Exxon attorneys “about the regulatory environment in which Exxon operates and the risks Exxon faces.” The court concluded that the attorney-client privilege did not apply because Exxon did not demonstrate that McKinsey’s business consulting work or the documents at issue “were necessary to the exchange of attorney-client communications.”

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.

Commonwealth v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

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Massachusetts Court Said Exxon Must Produce Contested McKinsey Documents in Commonwealth’s Climate Consumer Protection Case

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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

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

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.

Massachusetts Court Said Exxon Must Produce Contested McKinsey Documents in Commonwealth’s Climate Consumer Protection Case

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