Climate change: The US state taking on an oil giant for greenwashing

 The question of responsibility for the effects of global warming is - slowly - being tested in court. One case in Massachusetts is using consumer laws to take on oil giant ExxonMobil. If the US state wins, it will be the first case in the world to successfully prosecute a fossil fuel company for greenwashing and misleading the public.

How much is the fossil fuel industry actually doing to tackle climate change? If you listen to the companies themselves, quite a lot. ExxonMobil, the American oil and gas giant, says it's committed to new energy solutions that don't contribute as much to global warming - such as fuel made from algae.

The firm claims it could "one day power planes, propel ships and fuel trucks and cut their emissions in half". One of its adverts says: "Every technology we're working on helps lower our carbon footprint. Because when it comes to addressing climate change, our actions make a difference."

But not everyone's buying it. "There's this giant disconnect," says Naomi Oreskes, a professor at Harvard University, who's been monitoring disinformation tactics used by big businesses for years. 

"The reality of their business model is to continue to exploit, develop and sell oil and gas. But their advertising, their communications, make it seem as if they're these great guys committed to sustainability and renewable energy."

It's what ExxonMobil's critics have described as greenwashing - pretending to be greener than you actually are. In other words, a form of alleged deception. And - partly because of that - Exxon and other oil companies are fighting various forms of legal action across the US.

The state of Massachusetts is facing Exxon in court with consumer protection laws that say the company continues to cheat consumers and state investors about damage caused by oil and gasoline products. Exxon vehemently denies the allegations.

The company tried - and failed - to dismiss the whole case because many of the allegations made in this case did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts courts and the advertisements were not created or targeted at the state's residents. .

But it was partly because of what climate change had done with the people of Massachusetts that the state decided to take Exxon to court. The action focuses, inter alia, specifically on endangering fishermen and their way of life.

"I get out of the boat to do a lot of my work, the water used to only come up to my waist, now it comes up to the middle of my stomach at a good tide," he says. "I'm already looking at buying a bigger crane."

He is worried - the tides have also changed and the weather is becoming more extreme. His oyster farm has now been shut for two months, costing him up to $20,000 (£14,555) after the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped nine inches of rain around Bourne in early September.