AccomplishmentsClimate and Environment

Exxon: In September 2020, Attorney General Tong sued ExxonMobil under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, alleging an ongoing, systematic campaign of lies and deception to hide from the public what ExxonMobil has known for decades—that burning fossil fuels undeniably contributes to climate change.

Federal Action: Attorney General Tong is an active leader in dozens of multistate battles to defend decades of environmental law, regulations, and precedent that protect clean air, water, land, and biodiver-sity. NYU’s State Impact Center tracks the actions of every state attorney general in this space. You can see a summary of Connecticut’s work here: AG Actions Database – The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center (stateimpactcenter.org). His ongoing multistate actions include efforts to strengthen and defend vehicle emissions standards; regulate and reduce airplane emissions and methane emissions in the oil and natural gas sector; mandate investment disclosures related to climate risk; impose FERC natural gas pipeline oversight; demand accountability for cross-state air pollution; and set energy efficiency standards for consumer products and for U.S. Postal Service vehicle purchases. He has sued the EPA and forced them to act on “good neighbor” plans for six upwind states to limit the downwind spread of smog-forming emissions here in Connecticut. He intervened in the defense of the EPA’s restoration of California’s waiver for Clean Car Standards.