Exxon sues California AG, environmental group over attack on recycling efforts Reuters
By Sheila Dang and Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit on Monday against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups, court records show, accusing them of defaming and disparaging the oil giant’s advanced plastic recycling initiatives.
The lawsuit is a sign of Exxon’s growing battle against environmentalists and other critics who have filed lawsuits against the company alleging its involvement in climate change and rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Filed in federal court in Beaumont, Texas, the suit accused Bonta of acting in concert with law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, which is affiliated with IEJF, an Australian non-profit organization controlled by billionaire Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation.
Fortescue competes with Exxon in the low-carbon solutions and energy transition sector, the lawsuit said.
Cotchett enlisted US environmental groups as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Exxon and also contributed to Bonta’s political campaign, Exxon said.
The company is seeking undisclosed damages and the retraction of what it called defamatory statements.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice said, “This is yet another attempt by ExxonMobil (NYSE: ) to distract from its own illegal deception. The attorney general is proud to advance his case against ExxonMobil and looks forward to vigorously pursuing this case in court.”
Bonta sued Exxon last year, saying the company engaged in deception over recycling restrictions for decades and asking the court to “hold ExxonMobil fully responsible for its role in actively creating and exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis.”
Exxon’s advanced recycling technology uses heat to break down hard-to-recycle plastics down to the molecular level so they can be reused.
Exxon separately sued activist investors last year after they filed a shareholder proposal on climate change. The company pressed ahead with the lawsuit even after activist investors withdrew the proposal, prompting alarm from climate advocates that legal action would stifle debate between shareholders and public companies. A US judge dismissed Exxon’s lawsuit in June.
“Instead of going along with efforts to support developing technology … Defendants repeatedly and publicly attack ExxonMobil with false accusations that it is a ‘liar’ and statements that advanced recycling is a ‘myth’ and a ‘fraud,'” Exxon said in the complaint.
In November, Exxon said it was moving forward with a plan to spend $200 million in Texas to expand its advanced recycling capabilities.
Exxon has been selling off its oil and gas fields in California and has criticized the state’s energy regulations.