The American Petroleum Institute has been named in a lawsuit alleging it and two oil companies sought to defraud the public about the reality and consequences of climate change.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison claims API, Koch Industries and ExxonMobil deceived and defrauded Minnesotans about climate change, Minnesota Public Radio reported. The suit seeks unspecified restitution, a corrective public education campaign and injunctions against further violations.

The legal action is only the latest in a series of lawsuits brought mainly by Democratic state attorneys general against the oil industry for its role in climate change. Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia, brought suit against several oil companies the following day but did not include API. (The association's offices are located in Washington, D.C.)

"When corporations and trade associations break the law and hurt Minnesotans, it's my job and my duty to hold them accountable," Ellison said in a statement. "The fraud, deceptive advertising, and other violations of Minnesota state law and common law that the lawsuit shows they perpetrated have harmed Minnesotans' health and our state's environment, infrastructure and economy."

In a statement to MPR, API Chief Legal Officer Paul Afanso took issue with Ellison's characterization of the oil industry's role in climate change.

"The record of the past two decades demonstrates that the industry has achieved its goal of providing affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint. Any suggestion to the contrary is false," Afanso said.

MORE CEO DATELINE

• Report: Business groups debate participating in political conventions
• NAM launches ad campaign to promote facemask use
• Bridge named after former OOIDA head
• Associations urges ‘swift action' to address coin shortage
• Business groups condemn freeze on visas for foreign workers