tillerson2 bak

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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/17 see main for older info</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2016/12/12/could_massive_russian_oil_deal_with">https://www.democracynow.org/2016/12/12/could_massive_russian_oil_deal_with</a></font></div><div><div class="story_summary" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="text" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 27px; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">we continue our conversation about ExxonMobil&nbsp;</span><span class="caps" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;">CEO</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;Rex Tillerson, whom Donald Trump is expected to nominate for secretary of state. Speaking on “Face the Nation” Sunday, Sen. John McCain said Tillerson should be given a fair hearing but reiterated his concerns about Tillerson’s ties with Putin</span><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. One of the enormous deals that Vladimir Putin and Rex Tillerson worked on was a </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">$500 billion oil exploration partnership </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">between Exxon and the Russian government’s oil company, Rosneft. </span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Obama administration blocked the deal when it imposed sanctions against Russia for its intervention in the Ukraine. In a recent column for ThinkProgress titled “Trump, Putin, and ExxonMobil team up to destroy the planet,” Joe Romm, founding editor of Climate Progress, writes, “This deal could explain why Putin appears to have interfered in U.S. elections in favor of a Trump victory.” Romm goes on to say, “if the sanctions are lifted—something a new Secretary of State could help make happen—it would pay off big time for Exxon. … Imagine … if the oil giant is freed to produce and sell oil on the staggering 63.7 million acres of Russian land it leases, which is over 5 times the amount of land it leases in this country. Happy days are here again, for Exxon.”</span></font></p></div><hr class="hidden-xs" style="background: rgb(236, 238, 239); box-sizing: content-box; height: 1px; margin: 40px 0px; border: none; clear: both;" /></div><div class="mobile_anchor_target" id="transcript" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h5 class="transcript" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; line-height: 1;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Transcript</font></h5><div class="text" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 27px; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;This is&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Democracy Now!</span>, democracynow.org,&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The War and Peace Report</span>. I’m Amy Goodman, as we continue our conversation about ExxonMobil&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">CEO</span>&nbsp;Rex Tillerson, who Donald Trump is expected to nominate for secretary of state. Speaking on&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Face the Nation</span>&nbsp;Sunday, Senator John McCain said Tillerson should be given a fair hearing, but reiterated his concerns about Tillerson’s ties to Vladimir Putin.</font></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding-left: 30px; border-left: 3px solid rgb(241, 242, 243);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">SEN</span>.&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOHN</span>&nbsp;McCAIN:</strong>&nbsp;Maybe those ties are strictly commercial and got to do with his business in the oil business. Fine. But we’ll give him a fair hearing. But is it a matter of concern? Certainly, it should be a matter of concern. But I’m sure, in a bipartisan way, he’ll get a fair hearing. … It’s a matter of concern to me that he has such a close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin—and, obviously, they’ve done enormous deals together—that that would color his approach to Vladimir Putin and the Russian threat.</font></p></blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;One of the enormous deals that Vladimir Putin and Rex Tillerson worked on was a $500 billion oil exploration partnership between Exxon and the Russian government’s oil company, Rosneft. The Obama administration blocked the deal when it imposed sanctions against Russia for its intervention in Ukraine. <b>In a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-putin-and-exxonmobil-team-up-to-destroy-the-planet-fb88650acfa1#.bzwsyf6t7" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent;">column</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">ThinkProgress</em>&nbsp;headlined “Trump, Putin, and ExxonMobil team up to destroy the planet,” J</b>oe Romm, founding editor of&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Climate Progress</em>, writes, “This deal could explain why Putin appears to have interfered in U.S. elections in favor of a Trump victory.” Romm goes on to say, “if the sanctions are lifted — something a new Secretary of State could help make happen — it would pay off big time for Exxon. … Imagine … if the oil giant is freed to produce and sell oil on the staggering 63.7 million acres of Russian land it leases, which is over 5 times the amount of land it leases in this country. Happy days are here again, for Exxon,” Joe Romm writes.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Well, for more, we are joined by Joe Romm in Washington, D.C., who also is chief science adviser for&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Years of Living Dangerously</span>. So, Joe Romm, for people who have no idea what this is about, this Rosneft deal and the sanctions and what it would mean if they’re lifted, please lay it out for us.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOE</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ROMM</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Sure. Well, Rosneft is the state oil company for Russia, and, under Putin, it has been acquiring more and more power and control over the oil industry. And it is now, you know, I believe, the world’s largest oil entity in the world. ExxonMobil is the world’s largest, you know, privately held oil company in the world. And, you know, we’re entering a period where it’s harder and harder to find oil. And as I write in&nbsp;<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Climate Progress</em>, you know, ExxonMobil’s prospects for finding easy-to-find oil in this market were pretty dim, until this deal was struck between Tillerson and Putin, basically. And this deal would have created a $500 billion joint effort, you know, the biggest oil deal ever. It’s, you know, $500 billion. <b>We’re talking half a trillion dollars.</b> It’s a staggering amount of money. It was a deal that was perhaps going to ensure the future of a stream of oil for Exxon for decades to come, even, of course, as the world needs to get off of oil. For Putin, you know, this is critical revenue and critical outside investment, because, particularly now, in this era of low oil prices, that seriously hurts Putin. So this was considered to be a game changer. Rachel Maddow said, you know, this was a deal that was considered it might change the historical trajectory of Russia. Now, you know, Putin then invaded Crimea and interfered with Ukraine. As a result, the United States and most other civilized countries put in place sanctions. Those sanctions, in 2014, killed this deal.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And, you know, as I write in the piece, the question of—the intelligence community now says that Russia interfered in the election on behalf of Putin, that through leaks, through hacking private email accounts and releasing them—drip, drip, drip—and also we have reason to believe they’re one of the major promoters, disseminators of fake news. So, you know, one can understand the motivation. You know, some people said, “Hey, Putin has enough motivation just to, you know, cast doubt on the U.S. election.” But $500 billion, that is a very big motivation to mess up the U.S. election. So, this—</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;So—</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOE</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ROMM</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Yeah?</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;So explain what could happen if Tillerson did become secretary of state.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOE</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ROMM</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Well, if Tillerson becomes secretary of state—and I also want to say the man has no qualifications to be secretary of state. It just deserves to be said. He’s worked for ExxonMobil his entire life. And I know we’ve entered this realm where we just elected Donald Trump president, who is unqualified, and he’s been naming a series of people who are unqualified for their job, but it just needs to be said. So, Tillerson has no qualifications for his job. And he—the deal that he was negotiating with Putin two years ago won him the highest order that Russia gives to a foreign citizen. So, he and Putin are very, very close. And as secretary of state, of course, he is our lead negotiator. He is the president’s top representative to every foreign government in the world. So here’s the signal it sends to the rest of the world: All that matters to the United States is oil and a friendly relationship with Putin. Now, you know, this is a totally, totally compromised secretary of state. It is absurd. In any sane, rational world, you know, this would just be round-the-clock pillory.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;How could Tillerson decide about, for example, lifting the sanctions? What role would the secretary of state play, if he gets that job?</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOE</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ROMM</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Well, so, let’s look at the sanctions from two different—there’s the U.S. sanctions, which the Obama can pretty much—I mean, which a President Trump can pretty much lift most of, himself. But then there’s all the other countries who have sanctions. And in order to make an economic deal between Exxon and Rosneft, Russia, work, you’re going to need not just allowing U.S. investment in the country, you’re going to have to allow Russia, you know, to make deals and sell oil with every other country. So, as secretary of state, he can simply make it his top priority to use the full leverage of the United States, in every deal, to benefit the oil industry, to benefit the U.S. oil industry, to benefit Rosneft, to benefit Putin. You know, it basically would be turning the U.S. State Department and the U.S. executive branch into what Russia is—a kleptocracy run by Putin and his gang to extract money and enrich themselves.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;And, Joe Romm, what about his own wealth? What about Rex Tillerson’s own wealth? He is the current&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">CEO</span>&nbsp;of Exxon. If he retires and becomes secretary of state, still his money is tied up in Exxon, in what happens to Exxon, what the secretary—what the State Department and other government agencies, how they relate to Exxon.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOE</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ROMM</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Yes. And he would presumably divest. He would presumably have to sell off, you know, his 100-plus million dollars’ worth of shares of ExxonMobil, and because of the way the law is written, he can do that tax-free. But I think it’s important to say that, you know, someone who has worked his life, all his life, at ExxonMobil, all the way up to the top of the company, is hardly going to be able to separate his interests and the interests of all of his close personal friends and family simply by divesting himself of the stock. He is ExxonMobil. And you should just see that on his forehead whenever you look at him.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;Carroll Muffett,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> we just have a minute, but you’re seeing one agency head after another, one Cabinet member named after another, related to Exxon, in fact.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">CARROLL</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">MUFFETT</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Yes. If you look at Jeff Sessions, he intervened in the investigations—</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;The attorney general nominee.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">CARROLL</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">MUFFETT</span>:</strong><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;—of Exxon.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> If you look at Scott Pruitt, the nominee for&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">EPA</span>, he intervened in the investigation of Exxon by other state attorneys general. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Then you add—you add Rex Tillerson. And on climate change, what we’re looking at is government of Exxon, by Exxon and for Exxon. But it’s really important to recognize that this is emblematic of a broader trend that we’re seeing in Trump’s nominations, where, in one agency after another, he has put people in charge of agencies that are patently hostile to both the agency itself and to the people and places those agencies are designed to protect. It’s looking to move us a hundred years backward in time and undo a hundred years of environmental and social progress.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;And finally, Bill McKibben, one of his transition team representatives said today on one of the talk shows that this is a man who is very accomplished in business, so he’ll be reviewing the budget of the State Department and, you know, who should be there and who shouldn’t. We hear about the Department of Energy. Donald Trump just said he will be deciding very soon, after becoming president, what to do about the Dakota Access pipeline, which the Obama administration has said no to granting the final permit to, and the Keystone XL, which your group, 350.org, and so many others fought so hard, until Obama, the—President Obama said no to the Keystone XL. Finally, what does this mean, and how is 350.org organizing?</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">BILL</span>&nbsp;McKIBBEN:</strong>&nbsp;2016 is the hottest year in human history. And we’re going to have to make 2017 as politically hot as it is humanly possible to do. If people have been keeping their powder dry, waiting to come out and engage in peaceful protest, well, this is the moment. Everything is at risk, both in terms of our democracy and our planet. And so, we will organize at 350, just as people will organize all over the country. And we’ll do it not with complete confidence that we’re going to win; we’ll do it because we have to do it. And we will see what happens. This is one of those hinge moments in human history, and, actually, in planetary history, too. I’m not sure there’s never been one quite like it, Amy.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Well, I want to go—end with a clip from Fox News this Sunday, Donald Trump interviewed by Chris Wallace on the pipeline.</font></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding-left: 30px; border-left: 3px solid rgb(241, 242, 243);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">CHRIS</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">WALLACE</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Let me ask you a couple of specific questions. Will you still pull out of the Paris climate agreement, which has been signed by more than a hundred countries to reduce carbon emissions? Will you restart the Dakota Access pipeline, which the Army just stopped?</font></p></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding-left: 30px; border-left: 3px solid rgb(241, 242, 243); padding-top: 30px !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">PRESIDENT</span>-<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ELECT</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">DONALD</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">TRUMP</span>:</strong>&nbsp;OK, let me not answer the Dakota, because perhaps that will be solved by the time I get there, so I don’t have to create enemies on one side or the other. But I will tell you, when I get to office, if it’s not solved, I’ll have it solved very quickly.</font></p></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding-left: 30px; border-left: 3px solid rgb(241, 242, 243); padding-top: 30px !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">CHRIS</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">WALLACE</span>:</strong>&nbsp;Meaning you’re going to start it.</font></p></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding-left: 30px; border-left: 3px solid rgb(241, 242, 243); padding-top: 30px !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">PRESIDENT</span>-<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ELECT</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">DONALD</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">TRUMP</span>:</strong>&nbsp;I’m not saying anything. I just say something will happen, and it’ll be quick. I think it’s very unfair. So, it’ll start, one way or the other.</font></p></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding-left: 30px; border-left: 3px solid rgb(241, 242, 243); padding-top: 30px !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">CHRIS</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">WALLACE</span>:</strong>&nbsp;And Paris?</font></p></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding-left: 30px; border-left: 3px solid rgb(241, 242, 243); padding-top: 30px !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">PRESIDENT</span>-<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ELECT</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">DONALD</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">TRUMP</span>:</strong>&nbsp;You’ll have a decision pretty quickly. And also the Keystone pipeline, you’re going to have a decision fairly quickly. And you’ll see that. Now, Paris, I’m studying. I do say this: I don’t want that agreement to put us at a competitive disadvantage with other countries. And as you know, there are different times and different time limits on that agreement. I don’t want that to give China or other countries signing agreements an advantage over us.</font></p></blockquote><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AMY</span>&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="box-sizing: border-box;">GOODMAN</span>:</strong>&nbsp;That’s Donald Trump yesterday on Fox News. We will wrap up there. And in our next segment, we’ll look back at the investigation by the&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Los Angeles Times</span>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">InsideClimate News</span>&nbsp;into how ExxonMobil covered up its own knowledge of human-induced climate change. I want to thank Joe Romm of&nbsp;<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Climate Progress</span>, Carroll Muffett of the Center for International Environmental Law and Bill McKibben, co-founder of&nbsp;<a href="http://350.org/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent;">350.org</a>. Stay with us.</font></p></div><div class="next_story_body" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 25px 0px 15px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Next story from this daily show</font></h4><h5 style="box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: 0.5px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><a data-ga-action="Story: Next Story" href="https://www.democracynow.org/2016/12/12/inside_exxons_great_climate_cover_up" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Inside Exxon’s Great Climate Cover-Up: From Early Climate Change Researcher to Epic Climate Denier</font></a></h5></div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">qz jul 2017 bad code</font></div><div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">qz jul 2017</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://qz.com/1034589/exxonmobil-made-illegal-deals-with-russia-when-secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson-ran-the-company" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">https://qz.com/1034589/exxonmobil-made-illegal-deals-with-russia-when-secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson-ran-the-company</a></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">when Rex Tillerson ran ExxonMobil, he made his name making deals in Russia, which in turn made Donald Trump’s decision to appoint him as secretary of State contentious. Skepticism about Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian state and its connections to the highest levels of the Trump administration dogged his confirmation hearings.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Now, it turns out at least some of those Russia deals made while he was CEO broke US law. The sanctions cops at the US Treasury Department have levied a fine of $2 million (pdf) on ExxonMobil for violating sanctions put in place to punish Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">That fine is, of course, a tiny drop in the ocean of Exxon’s petroleum profits of $7.8 billion last year. The violations hinge on some awkward timing. The US issued an executive order in March 2014, forbidding “the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services” from someone on the sanctions list. Igor Sechin, a Putin crony who earned the moniker “Darth Vader” for his forbidding style, was added to that list in April. In May, ExxonMobil signed a series of agreements with Sechin, who was acting in his capacity as the president of Rosneft, the Russian state oil firm.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">This was a no-no. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces sanctions, called the deal an “egregious case” that showed “reckless disregard” for US sanctions.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In a statement issued today, Exxon said the action is “fundamentally unfair,” and that it would file a legal challenge to overturn OFAC’s judgement.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Exxon said that the sanctions were aimed at Sechin’s personal wealth, not at Rosneft; it notes that a British oil company’s American CEO was allowed to attend board meetings with Sechin and that White House officials described the sanctions as an effort to target individuals, not companies. OFAC, on the other hand, said in its statement that it doesn’t recognize “an exception or carve-out for the professional conduct of designated or blocked persons,” and that the only thing that matters is the letter of the law.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>OFAC also noted that “ExxonMobil’s senior-most executives knew of Sechin’s status as [a sanctioned individual] when they dealt in the blocked services of Sechin.” ExxonMobil’s senior-most executive at that time was Tillerson.</b></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The next month, Tillerson was asked about sanctions by the Associated Press and said “there has been no impact on any of our business activities in Russia to this point, nor has there been any discernible impact on the relationship. The organizations continue to work business as usual.”</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Rosneft was crucial to Exxon.&nbsp;</b>In 2011, Exxon had begun working with the Russian firm in a $600 million deal to exploit Russian shale oil reserves. That represented an important gain in Exxon’s long-running battle to replenish its oil reserves, the key to the long-term survival of its business. The 2014 sanctions were a big obstacle to its success.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Three years later, during his confirmation hearing, Tillerson told senators that “to my knowledge, Exxon never directly lobbied against sanctions.” Politifact rated this statement “mostly false,” since Exxon had in fact paid a lobby group to lobby on the issue and Tillerson had spoken publicly of making Exxon’s opposition to sanctions known “at the highest levels.”</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></p></div><div><div class="sc-bxm4mm-3 cJgwZP js_midbanner_ad_slot" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: flex; width: 1483.2px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div class="sc-bxm4mm-5 jgBSrk" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 1rem 0px; padding: 1rem 0px; text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); border-top: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); position: relative; width: 1483.2px; min-width: 728px;"><div class="bt-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; place-content: center; display: flex;"><div class="sc-v7tysz-0 dqKlmg connatix-main-container" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 2rem auto 1rem; padding: 0px; max-width: 590px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div id="connatix-mid-article-thumbnails" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="sc-bxm4mm-3 cJgwZP js_midbanner_ad_slot" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: flex; width: 1483.2px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div class="sc-bxm4mm-5 jgBSrk" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 1rem 0px; padding: 1rem 0px; text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); border-top: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); position: relative; width: 1483.2px; min-width: 728px;"><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-private-empire-20170127-story.html">http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-private-empire-20170127-story.html</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no link</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</div><div>Why read a 5-year-old book about ExxonMobil now? Two words: Rex Tillerson</div><div>
</div><div>By SARAH CHAYES</div><div>JAN 27, 2017 | 8:30 AM</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div>Why read a 5-year-old book about ExxonMobil now? Two words: Rex Tillerson&nbsp;</div><div>Rex Tillerson, nominee for Secretary of State, testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations committee. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>If you want a deeper understanding of what has been inaugurated in Washington, read Steve Coll's "Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power." Rarely has a book been so profoundly and presciently relevant to events that would take place five years after its publication.</div><div>
</div><div>It is not just a book about a company — incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s gargantuan, profit-spawning alma mater.&nbsp; It is the portrait of an ethos. And as the pattern of Cabinet appointees makes plain, this ethos has just been ushered out from behind any vestige of discretion to rule unabashed over the executive branch of our government.</div><div>
</div><div>Full disclosure: I know and like Steve Coll. I hosted him in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when he was working on a January 2012 New Yorker article. But we have scarcely intersected since, and my judgment is not contaminated: I would not recommend his Pulitzer Prize-winning but wordy "Ghost Wars," for example.&nbsp; "Private Empire" is a much better book.</div><div>
</div><div>Weighing in at more than 700 pages, it is wordy too. Readers may want to dip in and out of its various narrative threads, as their particular issues or regions of interest suggest — be it climate change, sea-soiling spills, human rights, the fate of specific countries such as Chad or Venezuela, or the cynicism of corporate influence strategies.</div><div>
</div><div>Through the aggregation of these strands, Coll's trademark marriage of encyclopedic research and thriller writer's style and construction delivers a clear and unimpeachably substantiated picture.&nbsp; It is a picture of relentless focus on shareholder return above any other consideration, of a cult-like corporate culture characterized by secrecy, rigid conformity and aggressive exploitation of dominant positions, alongside a consistent pattern of public deception.</div><div>
</div><div>Media coverage and Tillerson's confirmation hearings have focused heavily on his relationship with Russia and touched on his attitude toward human rights and potential conflicts of interest when dealing with countries where ExxonMobil operates.&nbsp; But "Private Empire" reveals an underlying mindset that in my view has even more profound implications for his fitness to serve the nation.</div><div>
</div><div>One of the most telling passages comes early, in a description of the culture of "rule books and fear-inspiring management techniques" at Exxon. "Analogous to natural selection," writes Coll, a merciless grading system "hardened Exxon's culture and wrote the corporation's DNA." A point would come in potential managers' careers "when they either committed to Exxon or left. Those who stayed did not find the … system ironic or extreme; they liked it. … Restless free thinkers and habitual dissenters who accidentally got hired (often as scientists) tended to decide quickly that they would be happier elsewhere.&nbsp; The result was a corporation led in its upper management ranks by … true believers."</div><div>
</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Answering senators' questions, Tillerson dwelled on his "pivot" away from this world — away from all he had striven to assimilate and become since the age of 23 — assuring them that "if confirmed to be secretary of State, [I] will have one mission only, and that is to represent the interests of the American people." But 41 years in the environment Coll describes is not dispensed with overnight.</div><div>
</div><div>"The ultimate measure (and the chief purpose)" of this culture, writes Coll, "was Exxon's financial performance."&nbsp; This sounds self-evident.&nbsp; But the ExxonMobil story encapsulates a profound cultural shift that has swept much of the world beginning in the 1980s: the triumph of money over almost all other measures of social value and standing. I spent two weeks in Nigeria in 2015 asking people if the meaning of money had changed in their lifetimes. The answers were emphatic (yes), articulate and often surprising in their details. Americans have responded with equal fervency. The growing fixation is one of the most significant trends of the last several decades. And ExxonMobil is a chief exemplar.&nbsp; At issue here, as Coll makes clear, is not the profit motive. It is profit as the exclusive motive in the face of trade-offs of broader and broader import.</div><div>
</div><div>To stay competitive in this race with no finish line — for “financial performance,” shareholder value, zeroes in bank accounts — elites have been writing rules (or ensuring their selective enforcement) in their own favor. “Private Empire” documents countless examples,&nbsp; including Exxon’s unilateral decision to ignore SEC regulations on how oil holdings should be counted,&nbsp; its bombardment of government scientists with Freedom of Information Act requests while designing protections for its own information “far more severe than anything [one executive had] seen while holding a top secret clearance.”&nbsp;</div><div>
</div><div>An ExxonMobil pipeline through Cameroon in West Africa in 2003</div><div>
</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Compounding the "financial performance" incentive is the way ExxonMobil is valued.&nbsp; It's not enough for the company's success to sell fossil fuels and petrochemicals and make money.&nbsp; Coll charts how Exxon's entire corporate strategy is shaped by the need to gain equity control over, or "book," new reserves to replace oil it has produced in a given year.&nbsp; For, unless the company opted to expand into other activities or energy sources — which ExxonMobil has declined to do — failure to replace reserves would guarantee an eventual end to the company.&nbsp; And who would buy shares in a doomed company?</div><div>
</div><div>The obsessive push to beat its competitors in replacing reserves flies in the face of many realities pertaining to the outside world — a place with which Tillerson is relatively unacquainted, having never lived abroad, as Coll notes.&nbsp; The first, of course, is climate change.&nbsp; If ExxonMobil must keep finding, extracting and selling oil ad infinitum, then no climate concerns can be brooked.</div><div>
</div><div>Coll documents the company's consistent efforts to block international climate agreements and also its deceitful campaign to debunk science while predicating its own planning on that very science.</div><div>
</div><div>(As head of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Coll more recently created the Energy and Environmental Reporting Project, which, in partnership with the L.A. Times, ran a series of stories expanding on the book, unearthing internal documents that showed what the company knew about climate change as far back as the 1980s. On Jan. 12, in one of the investigations resulting from that L.A. Times reporting on the topic, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge ordered ExxonMobil to surrender documents it had sought to withhold.)</div><div>
</div><div>Exxon's attitude is similar to that of Goldman Sachs, which in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis bet against the very securities it was selling its customers.</div><div>
</div><div>It is unwise, in this context, to credit Tillerson's belated conversion to the reality of global warming — and even his past support for a carbon tax.&nbsp; "Private Empire" argues convincingly that the shift was a public relations calculation aimed at deflecting criticism without deviating from the overall aim of ensuring governments "lack the political will to … force any big shift away from oil." Indeed, with more urgency since the conclusion of the Paris climate accord, the company's survival depended on a Trump victory in November. But the manifestly suicidal basis to this entire business model raises questions about the analytical acumen of those who cleave to it.</div><div>
</div><div>Exxon's need to find replacement reserves has driven the search for oil ever farther and deeper, and in more dangerous locations. The inevitable consequence is spills that devastate irreplaceable natural treasures and human livelihoods, and an exacerbation of the "resource curse" in rich, tragically afflicted developing countries like Equatorial Guinea or Nigeria, where corrupt officials gorge on oil money while much of the population endures crippling poverty. Time and time again, Coll illustrates that ExxonMobil's instinctive response was to deceive the public about the reality of these consequences.</div><div>
</div><div>The picture that emerges from "Private Empire" is of a company and its senior management bereft of the most elementary concept of the public interest or honor's dictate to take responsibility for the consequences of one's actions.&nbsp; Coll depicts a company arrogantly conscious of its own sovereignty — as against that of the United States.&nbsp; With the appointment of this company's CEO, and so many others of his ilk, in the name of an anti-corruption campaign, what we are witnessing is the outright acquisition of our government by what can only be described as a kleptocratic cartel.</div><div>
</div><div>Sarah Chayes, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, is author of "Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security," which won the 2016 L.A. Times Book Prize, and with Sarah Peck, of "The Oil Curse: A Remedial Role for the Oil Industry."</div><div>
</div><div>"Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power"</div><div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">trump says we are renegot paris but....</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30082017/us-eliminating-its-arctic-and-climate-envoys-what-does-tell-our-allies">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30082017/us-eliminating-its-arctic-and-climate-envoys-what-does-tell-our-allies</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">todd sterm BO]</font></div><div><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/rex-tillerson" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Rex Tillerson</a>&nbsp;eliminates or shifts dozens of high-level diplomatic positions within the State Department—including the special envoys for climate change and the Arctic— those who have spent careers on these issues worry about the message being sent to the international community.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"On the appearance side, I think it definitely will be read by other governments as downgrading our interests," said Brooks Yeager, who was the deputy secretary for environment at the end of the Clinton administration. "At least in appearance, we're not devoting the same level of attention as other governments."</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a letter sent to Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) this week, Tillerson identified 36 special envoy positions that he plans to abolish. "I believe that the Department will be able to better execute its mission by integrating certain envoys and special representative offices within the regional and functional bureaus, and eliminating those that have accomplished or outlived their original purpose," Tillerson wrote.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The move is in step with the continued shrinking of the federal government under President&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/donald-trump" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Donald Trump</a>, where an exodus of Obama staffers, a hiring freeze and a lack of political appointments has left the State Department's ranks thinner by the week.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The appointees who have held top positions as envoys on&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">climate change</a>and the&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/arctic" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Arctic</a>&nbsp;have represented the United States in international climate negotiations and in multilateral diplomatic talks on the future of the Arctic region. Currently, both of those positions are vacant. Jonathan Pershing, former special envoy for climate change, and Admiral Robert Papp, former special representative for the Arctic, both resigned after Trump's election.</font></p><h3 playfair="Playfair" display="Display" serif="serif" font-weight="font-weight" normal="normal" line-height="line-height" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Positions Expected to Take Over Remain Unfilled</font></h3><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tillerson said the work done by their offices will shift to the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (known as OES)—a corner of the State Department that previously played a central role in international negotiations, but which is currently dormant as upper-level positions remain unfilled.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One State Department employee familiar with the Office of the Special Representative to the Arctic said the transition could be seamless—but for one thing: "They are still lacking specific policy guidance on many things they work on. Their work has been forced into a lull because they have not been given any guidance on something they can proactively do."</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"They're all sitting there twiddling their thumbs," the employee said.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The elimination of the envoy offices will affect seven positions and $761,000 in the climate change office and an additional five positions and $438,000 in the Arctic office. Trump's proposed budget calls for a 32 percent cut to the State Department budget.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The OES is currently helmed by Acting Assistant Secretary Judith G. Garber, but acting secretaries aren't in a good position to make policy decisions because they lack the authority of a congressionally confirmed appointee. Now, the OES ranks are about to be thinned even further, as Daniel A. Reifsnyder, the deputy assistant secretary for environment, who plans to leave the department soon.</font></p><h3 playfair="Playfair" display="Display" serif="serif" font-weight="font-weight" normal="normal" line-height="line-height" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Loss of U.S. Leadership?</font></h3><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"This strikes me as close to the elimination of capacity," said Rafe Pomerance, a member of the&nbsp;<a href="http://dels.nas.edu/prb" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Polar Research Board</a>&nbsp;of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine who served as a deputy assistant secretary for environment and development under President Clinton until 1999. Shifting the responsibilities of the Arctic and climate change envoys "would not be a disaster," Pomerance said, as long as there were a clear commitment in the OES to deal with the issues. "But fundamentally, Tillerson is not there on this," he said. "Either on the climate issue globally or in the Arctic."</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The notion that we're going to exhibit any positive leadership on this feels pretty hopeless. Rather,&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18052017/arctic-council-climate-change-rex-tillerson-donald-trump" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">we're slowing it all down</a>," Pomerance said.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Although the Trump administration, which has said it will leave the international&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/paris-climate-agreement" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Paris climate agreement</a>, nevertheless expects to participate in negotiations pending its eventual withdrawal, the lack of top appointees to attend meetings like the next conference of treaty parties in Bonn in November will likely render it impotent.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Todd Stern, who was the United States' chief negotiator for the Paris Agreement as the special envoy for climate change from 2009 to 2016, said that while the position wasn't necessary to get the work done, it certainly helped. "It allowed the United States to have a very senior level person who was focusing just on this issue," he said.</font></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The administration has already shown its colors on this issue," Stern said, referring to the Trump administration's public statements about climate change and continuing efforts to roll back U.S. climate policies. "It's no surprise that they decided to do away with my office. Indeed, I would have been quite surprised if they had not done that, given the orientation they have clearly demonstrated."</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/04/court-papers-claim-rex-tillerson-approved-misleading-carbon-accounting-scheme-while-exxonmobil-boss">https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/04/court-papers-claim-rex-tillerson-approved-misleading-carbon-accounting-scheme-while-exxonmobil-boss</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GM 1989, chair 2006</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/01/13199/exxon-illegally-funded-alec-under-tillersons-tenure-cmd-tells-committee">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/01/13199/exxon-illegally-funded-alec-under-tillersons-tenure-cmd-tells-committee</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><h3 class="rtecenter" style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Written Statement of Lisa Graves on Behalf of the Center for Media and Democracy Submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations</font></strong></h3><p class="rtecenter" style="margin: 1.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hearing on the Nomination of Rex Tillerson to Be U.S. Secretary of State.</font></strong></p><p class="rtecenter" style="margin: 1.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">January 11, 2017</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dear Chairman Corker, Ranking Member Cardin and Members of the Committee:</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) would like to bring your attention a matter of serious concern regarding the nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be U.S. Secretary of State. We would also respectfully request that this letter be included in the hearing record on his nomination, which we oppose.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>For more than a decade under Mr. Tillerson's tenure, Exxon has poured millions of dollars into nonprofit organizations in order to undermine public confidence in climate science and promote its anti-regulatory agenda.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>In the case of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), we believe that course of action was illegal.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On October 15, 2016, CMD and Common Cause filed a detailed account of the scheme with the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, backed up by more than 240 exhibits. The submission and all of the supporting documentation can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/10/06/exxon-alec-running-illegal-lobbying-scheme-irs-complaint/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/10/06/exxon-alec-running-illegal-lobbying-scheme-irs-complaint/</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Between 1998 and 2014, Exxon and its foundation spent more than $1.7 million to finance lobbying activity by ALEC on legislation and public policies that benefit the corporation, while likely improperly and illegally claiming a tax deduction for those expenditures. More than $1 million of that money was given to ALEC while Mr. Tillerson was President and then CEO of Exxon.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Exxon's collusion with ALEC resulted in the coordinated introduction of scores of bills in state houses across the country, which ALEC promoted and carefully tracked. ALEC boasted of its efforts to win passage of that legislation in press releases and statements to its members. Meanwhile, ALEC fraudulently claimed on its tax returns it spent $0 on lobbying.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Exxon was not a passive participant in this arrangement. For most, if not all, of that period, Exxon paid substantial sums to serve in a leadership capacity at ALEC,</b>&nbsp;both on the group's corporate board and on its energy-related issue task forces, where corporations promote "model" legislation for legislative members to push into law. In that capacity, Exxon and other fossil fuel companies held de facto veto power over what bills would or would not be promoted by ALEC. That activity constituted a gross violation of federal tax laws by Exxon.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>At the center of Exxon's efforts was a 1998 "Global Climate Science Communications Action Plan"&nbsp;</b>developed by Exxon and other oil companies to "inform the American public that science does not support the precipitous actions [the] Kyoto [climate treaty] would dictate." The plan envisioned spending $5 million over two years to "inform and educate members of Congress, state officials, industry leadership, and school teachers/students about the uncertainties in climate science."</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Ultimately, Exxon ended up spending at least $30.9 million to support climate denial groups between 1998 and 2014. More than $18 million of that climate-denial cash was spent after Mr. Tillerson became Exxon's President and then CEO.</font></p><div class="clearfix"><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Exxon also used ALEC to promote its corporate legislative agenda concerning regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, fracking, and the Keystone Pipeline. For example, as detailed in the&nbsp;<em>New York Times</em>, Exxon drafted and introduced a fracking bill that was adopted by ALEC and then introduced in at least six states.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>By intentionally using a 501(c)(3) charity to promote its legislative agenda, instead of a 501(c)(6) trade association, Exxon benefited from the arms-length appearance of neutrality the charity provided, and likely claimed the full amount of funding as a tax deduction. Comparable payments to a trade association would not be tax-exempt.</b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In light of those facts, CMD and Common Cause urged the IRS to expedite its open and active investigation into potential civil and criminal liability for both ALEC and Exxon, to&nbsp;<b>revoke ALEC's 501(c)(3) status,&nbsp;</b>to impose any necessary civil and criminal penalties, and to collect unpaid back and present taxes for nondeductible lobbying activities from both ALEC and its corporate donors, including Exxon.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Eric Havian, a prominent whistleblower lawyer at Constantine Cannon who is handling the case concluded, "It is corrupt to use the tax laws as a cover for corporate lobbying, but it's<b>&nbsp;even worse in this case. Exxon uses ALEC's charitable status to fuel its disinformation campaign on climate change, so taxpayers are literally paying Exxon to lie to them."</b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Tillerson's apparent willingness to illicitly use nonprofit organizations to sway public and political opinion on climate science and promote his lobbying agenda is very troubling.</font></p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Notably, Exxon's use of ALEC to advance disinformation on climate change and to obstruct efforts to mitigate climate change behind the scenes occurred while Exxon was conveying to its shareholders that it was working to address climate change</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;That matter is under investigation the Attorneys General of New York and California. The Committee should not consider giving Mr. Tillerson the role of top U.S. diplomat until those legal investigations are completed and if they exonerate Exxon of wrongdoing under Mr. Tillerson's watch.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There are many very strong reasons to oppose Mr. Tillerson's confirmation. The deception Exxon executed through ALEC is one of them. Thank you for considering our views.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Respectfully,</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1.5em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lisa Graves, Executive Director</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08062017/exxon-climate-fraud-rex-tillerson-erased-wayne-tracker-emails-witness">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08062017/exxon-climate-fraud-rex-tillerson-erased-wayne-tracker-emails-witness</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/04/court-papers-claim-rex-tillerson-approved-misleading-carbon-accounting-scheme-while-exxonmobil-boss">
</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/04/court-papers-claim-rex-tillerson-approved-misleading-carbon-accounting-scheme-while-exxonmobil-boss">https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/04/court-papers-claim-rex-tillerson-approved-misleading-carbon-accounting-scheme-while-exxonmobil-boss</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Former ExxonMobil&nbsp;<span class="caps">CEO</span>&nbsp;and now-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson personally approved a scheme for accounting for the financial impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the company's business that deliberately misled investors, one that continued right through ExxonMobil's May 31st shareholders', according to an explosive&nbsp;<a href="https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=RjOFq8qu5DQSZfGVHWo4cw&system=prod" target="blank" title="court filing" style="text-decoration-line: none;">court filing</a>&nbsp;by the New York Attorney General, Eric&nbsp;Schneiderman.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Schneiderman claims that beginning in 2007, ExxonMobil used one set of figures in describing carbon-related risks to investors but internally used another, secret set.&nbsp; The net result was to vastly understate the financial danger to the&nbsp;company.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The June 2nd court filing also accuses the ExxonMobil of destroying countless documents despite the fact that it had a legal obligation to preserve all records potentially relevant to the attorney general's investigation, which is probing possible fraud in ExxonMobil's disclosures about climate change to investors and the&nbsp;public.&nbsp;</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“These failures directly resulted in the destruction of months, and in many cases, more than a year’s worth, of emails and other electronic documents belonging to key custodians including the company’s top management and reserves analysts,” the attorney general&nbsp;writes.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Material from a secret email account maintained by Tillerson's under the name “Wayne Tracker” was also evidently&nbsp;destroyed.&nbsp;</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An ExxonMobil lawyer acknowledged that she “knew in 'early 2016' about the second email address for Rex Tillerson —&nbsp;the Wayne Tracker email address — and that she did not disclose that email address to&nbsp;<span class="caps">OAG</span>, stating that it would 'be an&nbsp;<em>interesting test&nbsp;</em>of whether the Attorney General’s office is reading the documents,' ” according to the filing (emphasis in the original) in state court in&nbsp;Manhattan.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This omission led to “months of automatic destruction of relevant correspondence involving Mr. Tillerson,” the court papers&nbsp;charged.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Courts can impose substantial financial and other sanctions - and even criminal penalties - for destruction of evidence.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The attorney general did present a number of preserved emails that seem to show Tillerson's fingerprints on the decision-making for how to minimize to the public the likely impact of a carbon-constrained business environment - such as new national and international greenhouse gas regulations&nbsp; - not only on ExxonMobil's business operations, but on the value of its oil and gas&nbsp;assets.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A May 2011&nbsp;<a href="https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=nb5lqONMwa8WG1atSq3J7A&system=prod" target="_blank" title="email exchange" style="text-decoration-line: none;">email exchange</a>&nbsp;between ExxonMobil managers describes two different price calculations for the potential cost to the company of a ton of emitted carbon dioxide, one used internally and one presented to the public as the &nbsp;“proxy” for&nbsp;<span class="caps">GHG</span>&nbsp;costs that the company supposedly used in calculating the impact on ExxonMobil's&nbsp;bottom-line.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I have pointed out the difference in past reviews,” writes Tom R. Eizember, then&nbsp;Planning Manager for Corporate Strategic Planning at the&nbsp;company.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Rex has seemed happy with the difference previously - appeared to feel it&nbsp;provides a “conservative” basis (but only if viewed from the perspective of claiming economics credits to reduce emissions; it is not conservative vs&nbsp;<span class="caps">EO</span>&nbsp;from the perspective of debiting actions that increase emissions),” Eizember&nbsp;continues.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The&nbsp;<span class="caps">AG</span>'s court filing provides a significant amount of new, explosive information about what the investigation, which began in 2015, is undercovering about the world's largest oil company's climate secrets. These are backed up by 33 exhibits that include internal corporate emails, a transcript of an investor conference call, and&nbsp;<span class="caps">XOM</span>'s own reports on carbon&nbsp;risk.</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The probe of&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/content/Exxon-The-Road-Not-Taken" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">ExxonMobil</a>&nbsp;by the New York Attorney General's Office is widening. Investigators have taken depositions of company executives and issued additional subpoenas to determine whether the company may have destroyed evidence connected to an alias email used by former Exxon CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/rex-tillerson" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Rex Tillerson</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The disclosure was made Friday in arguments filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in a Manhattan federal court. He is seeking dismissal of a request by Exxon for an injunction that would halt his investigation into the oil giant involving whether it misled shareholders and the public about the risks of climate change.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys for Schneiderman did not elaborate in the 25-page document on the scope of the expanded investigation other than to suggest that it involved the recent disclosure that Tillerson, now U.S. secretary of state, used an email alias when discussing issues including&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">climate change</a>&nbsp;and the risk that it posed to the company.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New York and Massachusetts investigators denounced the company's attempt in federal court to derail their parallel inquiries as a vexatious legal tactic that has no chance of succeeding.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"So far, this federal action's primary purpose has been to investigate the NYOAG's Investigation,"&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3727535-NY-AG-5-19-17.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">the New York brief states.</a></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The filings by Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey represent the first round in a series of legal jousts expected over the course of the summer before U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The two attorneys general argued that the proper venue for Exxon to fight the investigations, which are based on each state's fraud statutes, are in the respective state courts. Having a federal court intervene could mean that states might lose their autonomy in future investigations. "If this action proceeds, even to discovery, federal judges regularly could be called upon to determine when a recipient of a document subpoena may learn details of, or even halt, the state investigation that generated the subpoena," according to the New York brief.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Healey's office echoed that position<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3727621-Mass-AG-5-19-17.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;in its brief</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The disclosure by Schneiderman's office of a widening investigation focused on the possible destruction of evidence that heightened the stakes.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"In this ongoing investigation, the NYOAG has served additional subpoenas upon Exxon," according to the New York brief. "For example, because of concern about spoliation of documents, and in conformance with proceedings before the New York court on that issue, the NYOAG has taken, pursuant to subpoena, testimony of witnesses who may possess information relevant to spoliation."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The expanded investigation comes after Exxon conceded that it failed to preserve all documents from Tillerson's shadow email account, under the alias Wayne Tracker, and has failed to turn over other documents from top executives. New York investigators said in the brief that "no preservation hold was placed on Wayne Tracker" emails by Exxon, a process meant to insure they were not destroyed.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We have and will continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to get to the bottom of these issues and to further our investigation," said Amy Spitalnick, Schneiderman's press secretary.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An Exxon spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Exxon has until June 16 to formally respond in court.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Schneiderman's office disclosed the existence of Tillerson's alternate email as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05112015/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-subpoena-Exxon-climate-documents" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">an open investigation of Exxon</a>&nbsp;that began in November 2015 in connection with possible securities fraud over whether the company misled shareholders and the public about climate change.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tillerson used the Wayne Tracker email account for eight years to discuss, among other things, climate change-related issues and the risks they posed to the company's business, investigators claim.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The company turned over a handful of the emails in January and at that time said the emails had been overlooked because the company did not have the technical capability to identify them.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Exxon later said it could account for all but a one-month period of emails from Tillerson's alternate email account, from September to November 2014,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3521967-Exxon-Second-Response-3-21-17.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">according to a letter to a New York state court judge.</a>&nbsp;</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The case landed in Caproni's courtroom in March after a federal judge in Texas determined Exxon's<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30032017/exxonmobil-climate-change-research-ny-attorney-general-investigation" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;challenge to the investigations was best settled in New York</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While Exxon enjoyed a series of favorable rulings in Texas, Caproni has signaled she is skeptical of Exxon's arguments to put a stop to climate fraud investigations by the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Investigations launched by the two attorneys general provoked Exxon to<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14112016/exxonmobil-climate-change-investigation-ny-ag-global-warming-maura-healey" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;file a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;seeking an injunction to derail the probes. The investigations focus on whether past statements by Exxon questioning climate change science and downplaying climate change risks to the company constituted a form of fraud against the public and its shareholders.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Exxon argued that the investigations were politically motivated and intended to silence the company and any others who did not share the same views of climate change as the two attorneys general. The company has indicated that it will<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13042017/exxon-mobil-climate-change-investigations-attorney-general-new-york-massachusetts" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;repeat that argument</a>&nbsp;in Caproni's court.</font></p></div></div></div></div><div class="tagged-with" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><label style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; line-height: 1.2;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PUBLISHED UNDER:</font></label><div class="field field-name-field-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/oiltar-sands" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">OIL/TAR SANDS</a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/business-and-accountability-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/exxon-mobil" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">EXXON MOBIL</a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/exxon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">EXXON</a></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/rex-tillerson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">REX TILLERSON</a></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">CLIMATE CHANGE</a></div></div></div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">arctic talks</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18052017/arctic-council-climate-change-rex-tillerson-donald-trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Leaked Draft Shows How U.S. Weakened Climate Change Wording in the Arctic Declaration</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>The U.S.-edited draft, obtained by InsideClimate News, shows how the Trump administration targeted climate actions. It's a strategy we could see in future meetings.</div><div>
</div><div><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">he day before the Arctic Council met for its biannual ministerial last week, the United States requested six changes to the intergovernmental declaration that was to be issued—each of which weakened the language on climate change.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The Arctic Council, an intergovernmental body representing all eight&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/arctic" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Arctic</a>&nbsp;states, does not make policy, but the diplomatic work accomplished there is intended to trickle back to the countries and result in changes. An important part of that is the declaration issued at the end of each two-year chairmanship, which is signed by top officials from each country, to acknowledge the scientific and diplomatic work that was accomplished and to state the council's goals going forward.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The last-minute move by the United States to weaken the document can be seen as a test case for what we can expect at larger, more consequential meetings of international organizations dealing with global warming issues and policy as President&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/donald-trump" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;rolls back U.S. climate policies and backslides on international commitments.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">At last week's meeting, Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/rex-tillerson" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Rex Tillerson</a>&nbsp;brought the United States' chairmanship to an end and passed the torch to Finland. When the declaration was released, it was applauded by some for its inclusion of language about the&nbsp;<a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/topics/global-climate-treaty" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Paris climate agreement</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">climate change</a>.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">"There was a great deal of debate as to whether or not climate would even be addressed in the declaration," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said at a public event on Wednesday. "It is significant to note that not only was it addressed, it was acknowledged in the Fairbanks declaration that climate change is happening, that we're seeing impacts in the Arctic at twice the rate as in other places, and it is attributable to emissions."</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">Whit Sheard of the Circumpolar Conservation Union, an observer to the council, said he was relieved to see the final text. "I thought it was pretty impressive," he said.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">But those in the negotiations know how much more aggressive it could have been.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">"Ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent of the people who read the declaration will not have the benefit of hindsight and will think it's pretty good and we agree with that," said Jim Gamble, who represents the Aleut International Association, a permanent participant on the council. "There's an effort to move the climate agreement and sustainable development goals forward. But for those of us who are involved in the whole negotiation, we know at various times there was stronger language."</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">Behind the scenes, it had been a mad dash to get the declaration finalized.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The group of negotiators—which includes representatives from each of the Arctic countries and from six indigenous groups that are permanent participants on the council—had planned to meet for an hour on May 10 to finalize grammar and other trivial changes.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">But on May 9, the negotiators received a new version of the declaration from the United States that asked for six changes—all downplaying climate risks, the need for the Paris treaty or ambitious renewable energy goals. Negotiators spent a long morning huddled around a table, working line-by-line through the document projected on a screen. The other nations challenged the U.S. on every point, often joined by the indigenous groups.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">Because the negotiation process is closed to the public—and even to the groups with observer status at the Arctic Council—draft versions of the declaration are confidential. InsideClimate News obtained a copy of the May 9 version, with track-change suggestions by the State Department's acting assistant secretary, Judith Garber. ICN spoke with multiple sources who were part of the negotiations. They all spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the talks.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Changes</strong></p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The Arctic Council is a consensus body, and its declarations are hammered out over a series of negotiations. As the outgoing chair country, the United States under President Obama wrote the first draft.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The Fairbanks Declaration was the result of three negotiations—in Juneau in mid-March, in New York in April, and on May 10, the day before the ministerial.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">After the meeting in New York, the general consensus was that the document was largely finalized—until the changes from the United States arrived on May 9.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">It was like the United States "just dropped a bomb on a multilateral forum at the last minute," said one council delegate. "I don't think any of us were mentally prepared that we were now going to be in a make it or break it situation."</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The first change that the United States proposed fell near the end of the preamble and had to do with the great elephant in the room at any climate-related talks the U.S. is now involved in: the Paris climate agreement. Trump's policies would all but ensure the U.S. would miss its Paris pledges, and the president's advisers have been caught up in an&nbsp;<a href="file://localhost/%20%20https/::insideclimatenews.org:news:05052017:paris-agreement-climate-change-donald-trump-jared-kushner-steve-bannon-clean-power-plan" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">internal struggle over whether to leave the treaty</a>&nbsp;or simply backslide on the country's commitments.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The version of the declaration that the countries had previously agreed on noted the entry into force of the Paris Agreement "for the parties to that Agreement" and encouraged its implementation. The U.S. objected to that language, and the final version reflects a softer approach.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />&nbsp;</p><div class="media media-element-container media-image_full" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 532.766px;"><figure id="file-268552" class="file file-image file-image-png" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_full/public/ArcticReportA529px.png?itok=i6ShIp5d" class="colorbox init-colorbox-processed cboxElement" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="Excerpts from the edited Arctic Council declaration" title="Excerpts from the edited Arctic Council declaration" height="178" width="529" class="media-element file-image-full" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/icn_full_wrap_wide/public/ArcticReportA529px.png?itok=qf3JajM5" style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; display: block; width: 532.766px;" /></a></div></figure></div><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Immediately following that paragraph, the preamble had called for the commitment to working toward full implementation of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The goals, established by the UN in 2015, seek to end poverty, improve health and education and combat climate change. They include ambitious clean energy targets.</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">The U.S. called for the deletion of that section of the declaration. Led by Finland, the other parties pushed back, and the section was put back in, albeit in less forceful terms.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />&nbsp;</p><div class="media media-element-container media-image_full" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 532.766px;"><figure id="file-268553" class="file file-image file-image-png" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_full/public/ArcticReportB529px.png?itok=EtT0OFQz" class="colorbox init-colorbox-processed cboxElement" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="Excerpts from the edited Arctic Council declaration" title="Excerpts from the edited Arctic Council declaration" height="132" width="529" class="media-element file-image-full" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/icn_full_wrap_wide/public/ArcticReportB529px.png?itok=i2ciXYFt" style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; display: block; width: 532.766px;" /></a></div></figure></div><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Lower down, in a paragraph devoted to energy, the United States contested a reference to renewable energy. Where the earlier version reiterated "the need to improve the access of Arctic communities to clean, affordable, renewable and reliable energy sources," the U.S. wanted to delete the word "renewable."</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">Many countries, as well as the indigenous groups, fought this, and the word "renewable" made it back in—though in a less prominent place.&nbsp;</p><p open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;">....</p></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">epa</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19052017/leaked-donald-trump-budget-EPA-climate-clean-energy-environment"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19052017/leaked-donald-trump-budget-EPA-climate-clean-energy-environment</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19052017/exxon-investigation-destroyed-evidence-wayne-tracker-rex-tillerson-new-york-attorney-general"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19052017/exxon-investigation-destroyed-evidence-wayne-tracker-rex-tillerson-new-york-attorney-general</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">T<span open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">he probe of</span><span open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/content/Exxon-The-Road-Not-Taken" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" box-sizing="box-sizing" inherit="inherit" color="color" rgb="rgb" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none" font-weight="font-weight" bold="bold">ExxonMobil</a><span open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><span open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">by the New York Attorney General's Office is widening. Investigators have taken depositions of company executives and issued additional subpoenas to determine whether the company may have destroyed evidence connected to an alias email used by former Exxon CEO</span><span open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/rex-tillerson" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" box-sizing="box-sizing" inherit="inherit" color="color" rgb="rgb" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none" font-weight="font-weight" bold="bold">Rex Tillerson</a><span open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></font></div><div class="content" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The disclosure was made Friday in arguments filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in a Manhattan federal court. He is seeking dismissal of a request by Exxon for an injunction that would halt his investigation into the oil giant involving whether it misled shareholders and the public about the risks of climate change.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorneys for Schneiderman did not elaborate in the 25-page document on the scope of the expanded investigation other than to suggest that it involved the recent disclosure that Tillerson, now U.S. secretary of state, used an email alias when discussing issues including&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">climate change</a>&nbsp;and the risk that it posed to the company.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New York and Massachusetts investigators denounced the company's attempt in federal court to derail their parallel inquiries as a vexatious legal tactic that has no chance of succeeding.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"So far, this federal action's primary purpose has been to investigate the NYOAG's Investigation,"&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3727535-NY-AG-5-19-17.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">the New York brief states.</a></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The filings by Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey represent the first round in a series of legal jousts expected over the course of the summer before U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The two attorneys general argued that the proper venue for Exxon to fight the investigations, which are based on each state's fraud statutes, are in the respective state courts. Having a federal court intervene could mean that states might lose their autonomy in future investigations. "If this action proceeds, even to discovery, federal judges regularly could be called upon to determine when a recipient of a document subpoena may learn details of, or even halt, the state investigation that generated the subpoena," according to the New York brief.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Healey's office echoed that position<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3727621-Mass-AG-5-19-17.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;in its brief</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The disclosure by Schneiderman's office of a widening investigation focused on the possible destruction of evidence that heightened the stakes.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"In this ongoing investigation, the NYOAG has served additional subpoenas upon Exxon," according to the New York brief. "For example, because of concern about spoliation of documents, and in conformance with proceedings before the New York court on that issue, the NYOAG has taken, pursuant to subpoena, testimony of witnesses who may possess information relevant to spoliation."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The expanded investigation comes after Exxon conceded that it failed to preserve all documents from Tillerson's shadow email account, under the alias Wayne Tracker, and has failed to turn over other documents from top executives. New York investigators said in the brief that "no preservation hold was placed on Wayne Tracker" emails by Exxon, a process meant to insure they were not destroyed.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We have and will continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to get to the bottom of these issues and to further our investigation," said Amy Spitalnick, Schneiderman's press secretary.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An Exxon spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Exxon has until June 16 to formally respond in court.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Schneiderman's office disclosed the existence of Tillerson's alternate email as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05112015/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-subpoena-Exxon-climate-documents" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">an open investigation of Exxon</a>&nbsp;that began in November 2015 in connection with possible securities fraud over whether the company misled shareholders and the public about climate change.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tillerson used the Wayne Tracker email account for eight years to discuss, among other things, climate change-related issues and the risks they posed to the company's business, investigators claim.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The company turned over a handful of the emails in January and at that time said the emails had been overlooked because the company did not have the technical capability to identify them.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Exxon later said it could account for all but a one-month period of emails from Tillerson's alternate email account, from September to November 2014,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3521967-Exxon-Second-Response-3-21-17.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">according to a letter to a New York state court judge.</a>&nbsp;</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The case landed in Caproni's courtroom in March after a federal judge in Texas determined Exxon's<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30032017/exxonmobil-climate-change-research-ny-attorney-general-investigation" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;challenge to the investigations was best settled in New York</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While Exxon enjoyed a series of favorable rulings in Texas, Caproni has signaled she is skeptical of Exxon's arguments to put a stop to climate fraud investigations by the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Investigations launched by the two attorneys general provoked Exxon to<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14112016/exxonmobil-climate-change-investigation-ny-ag-global-warming-maura-healey" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;file a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;seeking an injunction to derail the probes. The investigations focus on whether past statements by Exxon questioning climate change science and downplaying climate change risks to the company constituted a form of fraud against the public and its shareholders.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Exxon argued that the investigations were politically motivated and intended to silence the company and any others who did not share the same views of climate change as the two attorneys general. The company has indicated that it will<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13042017/exxon-mobil-climate-change-investigations-attorney-general-new-york-massachusetts" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;repeat that argument</a>&nbsp;in Caproni's court.</font></p></div></div></div></div><div class="tagged-with" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><label style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; line-height: 1.2;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PUBLISHED UNDER:</font></label><div class="field field-name-field-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/oiltar-sands" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">OIL/TAR SANDS</a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/business-and-accountability-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; 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text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">EXXON MOBIL</a></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/exxon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">EXXON</a></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/rex-tillerson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">REX TILLERSON</a></div>&nbsp;<div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent;">CLIMATE CHANGE</a></div></div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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