美法官駁回埃克森美孚對麻省及紐約州訴訟案
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by Exxon Mobil against Massachusetts and New York to try to stop their investigation into whether the oil giant lied about climate change.
Judge Valerie Caproni ruled that Exxon Mobil's allegation that the states are politically motivated and trying to deprive it of its constitutional rights is "implausible."
Caproni dismissed Exxon's lawsuit "with prejudice," meaning it cannot sue a second time.
Massachusetts and New York Attorneys General Maura Healey and Eric Schneiderman, respectively, who pursued the case against Exxon, say they are pleased by the judge's decision.
An Exxon spokesman said the company is considering its next legal steps. He wrote in an e-mail to the media: "We believe the risk of climate change is real and we want to be part of the solution. We've invested about $8 billion on energy efficiency and low-emission technologies, such as carbon capture and next generation biofuels."
Exxon filed its lawsuit in 2016 after the two attorneys general subpoenaed documents into whether the oil company hid knowledge about global warming and lied to its investors about the effects to protect its profits.美國一位聯邦法院法官駁回了埃克森美孚公司對麻薩諸塞州和紐約州提起的訴訟。埃克森美孚公司試圖阻止這兩個州調查該公司是否在氣候變暖的問題上說謊。
聯邦法官卡普羅尼（Valerie Caproni）裁決，埃克森美孚公司稱這兩個州的行爲有政治動機以及試圖剝奪該公司憲法權利的說法不合情理。
卡普羅尼法官以“終審裁決”駁回了埃克森美孚公司的訴訟，這意味着該公司不得再次提起同樣訴訟。
起訴埃克森美孚公司的麻薩諸塞州司法部長希雷和紐約州司法部長施耐德曼對法官的裁決表示滿意。
埃克森美孚公司的發言人說，該公司正考慮下一步的法律行動。他在發給媒體的電郵中說：“我們認爲氣候變化有真正的危險，我們希望參與解決這個問題。我們投資了80億美元來改善能源效率和低排放技術，包括碳捕獲以及下一代的生物燃料。”
麻薩諸塞州和紐約州的司法部長提出調閱相關文件，以查證埃克森美孚公司是否隱瞞全球變暖的信息，併爲了維護其利潤而對調查人員說謊。隨後埃克森美孚公司2016年對這兩個州提出訴訟。
