Polluters Will Say Anything to Hide Their Emissions Records
Giant corporations like ExxonMobil are calling on the Supreme Court to block a California law that would require them to release their emissions and climate records. The argument? It would violate businesses’ free speech.
Dan Ammann, president at ExxonMobil Corp., at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Exxon has sued the state of California over its new emissions rules. (Walaa Alshaer / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Powerful business lobbyists are asking the US Supreme Court to use the First Amendment to block California from requiring corporations to publish their emissions data.
Pro-industry trade groups and their lawyers argue that new transparency and disclosure requirements violate businesses’ free speech rights.
An emergency appeal filed in recent weeks by the US and California Chambers of Commerce, as well as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Los Angeles County Business Federation, the Central Valley Business Federation, and the Western Growers Association, accuses the Golden State of waging an “open campaign to force companies into the public debate on climate issues” and “pressure [firms] to alter their behavior.”
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