Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron… California initiated proceedings on Friday September 15 against five of the largest oil companies in the world. For what ? Because they would have caused millions of dollars in damage and misled public opinion by minimizing the risks to the climate due to fossil fuels, reported the New York Times. The American Petroleum Institute is also targeted.
California is asking for the creation of a fund to deal with future damage caused by climate change in this state, victim of forest fires, floods and other extreme phenomena fueled by global warming. Over the past six years, numerous other legal actions have been launched by American cities, counties and states against interests linked to fossil fuels because of their environmental impact.
“Company executives have known for decades”
These companies and their associates have “intentionally minimized the risks posed by fossil fuels to the population, even though they were aware that their products could lead to significant global warming”, since the 1950s, underlines the complaint which was filed civilly in San Francisco Superior Court. Representatives of the targeted entities did not immediately respond to requests for reactions, adds the daily.
“Oil and gas company executives have known for decades that dependence on fossil fuels would cause these catastrophic results, but they have deprived the public and policy makers of this information by actively promoting misinformation on the subject,” adds the complaint is 135 pages long, according to the newspaper.
The oil and gas sector has sought to counter the legal attacks by gaming the procedure. But that effort suffered a major setback in May when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal in two cases, allowing the complaints to proceed in court.