Letter to the Hon. Xavier Bacerra - Regarding ExxonMobil

Letter

Dear Attorney General Becerra:

We write to congratulate you on your confirmation as California's Attorney General. We are delighted to see you in this role protecting Californians and California law, a position which will be more important than ever in the coming years. As you know, climate change is a key issue confronting our shared constituents, which is why we urge you to vigorously and publicly continue the state's investigation into what ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies knew about the dangers of climate change, and what they did with that vital information.

Under the leadership of then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, the State of California began an investigation into whether leading oil companies, in particular ExxonMobil and its predecessor companies, internally acknowledged the science of climate change decades ago yet covered up studies and worked to mislead the public about climate change's dangers. As you know, Attorneys General from the states of Massachusetts and New York have subpoenaed ExxonMobil records and are currently defending their investigations in court.

California has led the world in responding to the dangers of climate change, and we know that it will continue to do so. You now have a unique opportunity to play a leading role in that effort, and we urge you to work to hold ExxonMobil and others accountable for their longstanding, and potentially illegal, cover-up of the dangers of climate change.

Congratulations again, and thank you for your consideration of this important matter.