In a groundbreaking legal move, the state of California has initiated a lawsuit against some of the globe’s largest oil and gas conglomerates, accusing them of misleading the public and understating the perils associated with fossil fuels.
This civil lawsuit, filed in the state’s Superior Court located in San Francisco, additionally demands the establishment of a fund, to be funded by the implicated companies, to finance recovery efforts following catastrophic storms and wildfires. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issued a statement affirming the need to hold these corporations accountable. The oil giants embroiled in the lawsuit comprise Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP.
Newsom asserted, “For over five decades, Big Oil has systematically concealed the hazardous consequences of the fossil fuels they produce for our planet. California taxpayers should not bear the financial burden of billions of dollars in damages, including the devastation caused by wildfires, noxious smoke choking our atmosphere, lethal heatwaves, and record-breaking droughts desiccating our water sources.”
The 135-page complaint contends that these corporations have been cognizant of the warming of the planet and climate alteration resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels since at least the 1960s. However, they purposefully played down this impending peril in their public declarations and marketing campaigns.
The lawsuit further maintains that these companies’ scientists were aware of the catastrophic climate repercussions dating back to the 1950s, recognizing a narrow timeframe for communities and governments to respond. Instead, they purportedly executed a disinformation campaign, commencing as early as the 1970s, to discredit the growing scientific consensus on climate change while challenging climate-related risks.
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry entity also implicated in the lawsuit, contended that climate policies should be deliberated within the halls of Congress, not the courtroom. Shell echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the legal arena is not the appropriate venue to address global warming.
The legal action by California aligns with a series of analogous lawsuits filed by various states and municipalities in recent years, underscoring the mounting momentum to hold major oil companies accountable for their alleged decades-long deception.
Rob Bonta, California’s state attorney general, condemned these companies, asserting that they “have fed us lies and mistruths to further their record-breaking profits at the expense of our environment. Enough is enough.”
The lawsuit includes allegations of these corporations being responsible for climate change in California, false advertising, harm to natural resources, and unlawful business practices through the deceptive portrayal of climate change.
Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, hailed California’s legal action as a landmark moment in the expanding legal battle to hold major polluters responsible for years of alleged climate deception.
Californians have grappled with a climate crisis purportedly exacerbated by the fossil fuel industry, and now the state seeks to compel these alleged polluters to bear the consequences.
By AP
