How Exxon’s Climate Change Trial Became a Battle Over Numbers
The oil company couldn’t stop New York’s lawsuit, but the evidence forced the state to pivot. Outside the courthouse, protesters just want Big Oil to pay.
Protesters gather outside New York state court in Manhattan Oct. 22 as trial begins in the state’s lawsuit against Exxon Mobil.
Photograph: Erik Larson
Climate change protesters outside a Manhattan courthouse this week expressed overwhelming support for New York’s landmark securities fraud lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, even if they weren’t entirely sure what the case was actually about.
Several participants at a rally on the first day of a three-week trial said they believed the litigation had been brought by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James to hold Exxon accountable for its role in climate change.