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After four years of investigation, the Exxon Mobil trial opened on Tuesday (October 22nd) before the New York State Supreme Court. The oil giant is accused of knowingly misled its shareholders, underestimating the financial risks associated with global warming.
This "forgetfulness" would have distorted profitability calculations and generated losses for shareholders. During the trial that will last three weeks, officials of the Texas company will have to explain the truth of the estimates they gave investors regarding the risks of future regulations related to climate change .
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According to the Attorney General of New York, they were different from those used internally, suggesting much higher margins. For example, there is the undervaluation of a future carbon tax. Exxon Mobil put it at $ 40 per ton of CO2 versus $ 80, its real estimate. From single to double, what seriously distort the profits of investors.
False email address for shareholders
For the Supreme Court, the highest instances of the group acted voluntarily. As proof, Rex Tillerson, boss at the time of the facts, and former general manager of Donal Trump, would have posted a fake mail address dedicated to shareholders. What the person confirms, justifying this fact by the need to lighten his mailbox. This practice has been taken over by current CEO Darren Woods.
Exxon Mobil denounces a lawsuit led by the anti-fossil fuel lobbies and justifies its erroneous estimates by a risk calculation method that varies according to the context. Still, the oil giant is at risk: New York justice assesses the damage between $ 476 million and $ 1.6 billion.
Most disturbing, however, is that if the oil giant is convicted, further complaints from shareholders claiming to be aggrieved could swell the ranks of the plaintiffs.