California sues big oil over climate change in a 'watershed moment'
California is suing big oil and their subsidiaries "for more than 50 years of deception, cover-up and damage that have cost California taxpayers billions of dollars in health & environmental impacts.”
PHOTO: South Belridge Oil Field in the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. Getty Images
The State of California filed a landmark lawsuit that seeks to hold some of the world’s biggest oil companies, known as big oil, accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis.
The defendants are Exxon, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, their subsidiaries and the US-based energy trade association American Petroleum Institute (API), said the official announcement from California’s Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta.
“Oil and gas executives have known for decades about the dangers of the fossil fuels they produce,” said the governor's office. However, oil majors "intentionally suppressed" data to preserve profits and disseminated disinformation about climate change.
The plaintiff has argued that this disinformation, in turn, has slowed the transition away from fossil fuels.
“The deception continues today: Oil companies promote fossil fuel products as ‘clean’ or ‘green’ or ‘low-emissions’ that still produce carbon pollution, and they tout their renewable fuel products that actually make up a fraction of a percent of their earnings,” the statement added.
The lawsuit has called for financial penalties and monetary restitution to compensate for the damages. In addition, it wants the court to “prohibit oil companies from engaging in further pollution and destruction of California communities and natural resources.”
Newsom also denounced the oil giants on a global stage during a UN climate change event. “This climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis. This climate crisis persists. It’s not complicated. It’s not complicated. It’s the burning of oil. It’s the burning of gas. It’s the burning of coal. And we need to call that out,” he said at the summit.
Newsom has also announced an initiative to mitigate methane emissions as part of his aggressive efforts to combat climate change. The founding signatories included Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria and India. As part of its pledge, the largest US economy committed to reducing 40% methane emissions by 2030, compared to 2013 levels.
By Konica Bhatt
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