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(Bloomberg) — ExxonMobil Corp. has sued California, arguing that two new state laws violate the First Amendment by trying to force it to agree to a certain climate viewpoint, and conflict with federal regulations.
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The lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges that the two new laws, which seek to make large corporations more transparent about their climate emissions and financial exposure to climate risk, force ExxonMobil to publicly endorse opinions about climate change that it does not agree with.
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One bill requires large companies doing business in California with over $1 billion in annual revenue to measure and publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions each year. The other one calls for companies with over $500 million in annual revenue to publish a biennial report assessing how climate change could affect their financial performance, and what steps they are taking to manage those risks.
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These laws require companies to comply with California’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which ExxonMobil claims requires them to take responsibility for global warming, amounting to government-compelled speech..
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The energy giant says California claims large corporations are “most responsible” for climate change. Because these laws target only large companies, California is singling out those most likely to oppose climate policies, the lawsuit says.
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The company asserts that California is attempting to regulate conduct and speech outside its borders, since much of the reporting concerns emissions and risks from global operations.
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“ExxonMobil understands the very real risks associated with climate change and supports continued efforts to address those risks,” the filing says. “California may believe that companies that meet the statutes’ revenue thresholds are uniquely responsible for climate change; but the First Amendment categorically bars it from forcing ExxonMobil to speak in service of that misguided viewpoint.”
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The suit says lawmakers sought to “embarrass” corporations into changing behavior, which ExxonMobil calls an attempt to shame companies into compliance.
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ExxonMobil contends that SB 261 conflicts with federal securities laws, which already govern what publicly traded companies must disclose about financial and environmental risks. It argues that states cannot impose additional or inconsistent disclosure obligations on matters overseen by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
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The company is asking a court to block enforcement of the laws and declare them unconstitutional and preempted by federal law.
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