announced a settlement with Peabody Energy Corporation (also a named Respondent to this Petition) requiring improved climate change disclosure after a two-year investigation.155 As explained in a Greenpeace UK Investor Briefing: The investigation found Peabody had repeatedly denied in financial filings that it had the ability to predict the impact of potential regulation, when in fact it and its consultants had actually made projections detailing severe impacts on the company. There was a clear discrepancy between the company’s public disclosures and private knowledge. The Attorney General concluded that Peabody’s public disclosures focused on the IEA scenario most favourable to coal demand but which assumes governments will fail to adopt any new policies or regulations with the omission of the IEA’s other two scenarios which provide a less favourable view on future coal demand.156 There is a growing coalition of state attorneys general looking into corporate obfuscations of threats of climate change.157 In addition to New York, Attorneys General in Massachusetts, California, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have announced investigations.158 The legal grounds for the investigations vary from state-to-state. While some are premised on potential violations of securities and consumer fraud laws, the Attorney General for the U.S. Virgin Islands is conducting an investigation under the local anti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 155 New York State Office of the Attorney General, Press Release, A.G. Schneiderman Secures Unprecedented Agreement with Peabody Energy to End Misleading Statements and Disclose Risks Arising From Climate Change, Nov. 9, 2015, http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-securesunprecedented-agreement-peabody-energy-end-misleading (last accessed on Apr. 19, 2016). 156 Greenpeace UK, Investor Briefing, Climate Liability: The New York Attorney General’s Investigation into Exxon, Feb. 2016, http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/sites/files/gpuk/2016%20-%20Greenpeace%20%20Exxon%20-%20Climate%20Liability%20-%20Investor%20Briefing_0.pdf (last accessed on Apr. 19, 2016). 157 D. Hasemyer and S. Shankman, Climate Fraud Investigation of Exxon Draws Attention of 17 Attorneys General, InsideClimate News, Mar. 30, 2016, http://insideclimatenews.org/news/30032016/climatechange-fraud-investigation-exxon-eric-shneiderman-18-attorneys-general (last accessed on Apr. 19, 2016). 158 Id. ! ! ! ! ! 57 !