The New York attorney general has launched an investigation into whether Exxon Mobil Corp misled the public about the risks of climate change or its investors about how those risks may hurt the company's oil business.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenaed the company on Wednesday evening, demanding extensive financial records, emails and other documents, the attorney general's spokesman Stephen Barton told Reuters.
Read More: Obama on Climate Change: Act Now or Condemn World to a Nightmare
Exxon acknowledged that it had received the subpoena, but denied any wrongdoing.
“We unequivocally reject allegations that ExxonMobil suppressed climate change research contained in media reports that are inaccurate distortions of ExxonMobil’s nearly 40-year history of climate research that was conducted publicly in conjunction with the Department of Energy, academics and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” Exxon Mobil said in a statement provided to CNBC.
The New York Times first reported the news earlier on Thursday.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in late October had said she believed the U.S. Justice Department should investigate Exxon for failing to disclose data related to climate change.
Read More: Climate Change Dangers Are 'Higher Than Ever': U.N. Report