UCLA’s Ann Carlson quoted in U.S. News & World Report saying Exxon Mobil’s legal victory in NY won’t affect other climate lawsuits

Ann Carlson, an environmental law professor and co-director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change at UCLA School of Law, was quoted in a U.S. News & World Report article.

While some may view the decision as absolving big oil from responsibilities, this article, in fact, focused on whether Exxon misinformed investors about future implications of climate change, and therefore is not a true precedent regarding corporate responsibility.

Fossil fuel companies are still battling several climate change lawsuits in other states, and the ruling did not absolve Exxon Mobil from any liability for any future actions. “This is a very specific set of facts under a very specific state statute that is unique to the state of New York,” Carlson said in an email statement. “As the judge made clear in his ruling, this is a securities case, not a case about Exxon’s contribution to climate change.”

Read more at U.S. News and World Report.