The New York attorney general has begun a sweeping investigation of Exxon Mobil to determine whether the company lied to the public about the risks of climate change or to investors about how those risks might hurt the oil business says the New York Times (Nov.5).

According to people with knowledge of the investigation, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a subpoena Wednesday evening to Exxon Mobil, demanding extensive financial records, emails and other documents.

The focus includes the company’s activities dating to the late 1970s, including a period of at least a decade when Exxon Mobil funded groups that sought to undermine climate science. A major focus of the investigation is whether the company adequately warned investors about potential financial risks stemming from society’s need to limit fossil-fuel use.

Kenneth P. Cohen, vice president for public affairs at Exxon Mobil, said on Thursday that the company had received the subpoena and was still deciding how to respond.

In July this year  International Business Times reported: “An email from a former climate expert at US energy major ExxonMobil has revealed that the company knew about the impact of oil and gas exploration on the climate as early as 1981, and that it allegedly spent millions to support advocates of climate change denial for almost three decades.

Lenny Bernstein, a 30-year industry veteran and Exxon's former in-house climate expert, alleged in an email that the company was well aware of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming as early as 1981, seven years before the issue became noticed.”