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Rockefellers, US states clash over Exxon’s connivance of climate change

Environmental activists blockade an Exxon station in Murray, Utah, with red lines meant to symbolize Exxon's closure, which the activists demand as retribution for the company's alleged role in denying climate change. (The Salt Lake Tribune)

American industrial, political, and banking family Rockefeller has gotten engaged in a row with several US states over Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company.

The states’ lawmakers have been involved in a probe through a US Congressional committee over the corporation’s record on climate change, Reuters reported.

The attorney general of Massachusetts and investment funds of the Rockefeller family sent a letter to the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology on Friday, branding it as inept to monitor a probe into Exxon’s activities.

"The Committee lacks authority to interfere with an investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office into possible violations of Massachusetts law by ExxonMobil," said a letter to the committee from the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Heale.

The coalition of some 20 states, however, has vowed to keep up with their demands and push the corporation to take action to deal with climate change.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Rockefeller Family Fund also sent a letter to the committee, saying its request "imperiled the funds' First Amendment rights," adding that the US "Congress's investigatory power is not unlimited."

Exxon executives are blamed for misleading the public by acting against the results of research by scientists, aimed at tackling climate change.

The panel demands access to any records of consultations held with outside environmental groups prior to the start of the investigation.


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