Climate Changed

Exxon Climate Plan Wasn’t Fake, Tillerson Says In N.Y. Trial

Former CEO testifies at trial over scheme to defraud investors
Climate-risk plan was a ‘robust’ real system, Tillerson says

Rex Tillerson departs from state court in New York on Oct. 30.Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

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By Erik Larson

October 30, 2019 at 6:26 PM UTC

Updated on

October 30, 2019 at 7:24 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Former Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson rejected the New York attorney general’s claim that for years he spearheaded a secret scheme to defraud investors by lying about how the oil company planned for the financial risks of climate change.

Tillerson, called as a witness by the state, testified for 3 1/2 hours in Manhattan on Wednesday in the securities-fraud trial. He was CEO during the central event in the case: Exxon’s adoption of a “proxy cost” metric for carbon to predict decreasing demand for oil and gas.