That's a brilliant excuse: Lie about the effects of emissions, lobby (and pay) Congress to not do anything about it (or change incentives to maybe use less gas rather than more) and then, when you are getting sued, just argue that the lying didn't affect policy, so it was perfectly fine.
Axel Springer is the company that bought Politico (and produces rags like Bild in Germany).
Springer Nature is majority owned by Holtzbrinck, a competitor to Axel Springer.