The action was revealed by New York Times and confirmed by the state’s governor, following several other initiatives launched by North American cities, counties and states against fossil fuel-related entities for their impact on the environment, amid decades of allegations of disinformation campaigns.
The civil lawsuit was filed Friday in a San Francisco court against California-based oil giants Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Chevron. The American Petroleum Institute association is also being targeted, says the New York Times.
“For more than 50 years, Big Oil has lied to us, hiding the fact that they have long known that the fossil fuels they produce are dangerous to our planet,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement released Friday. declaration. “California is taking steps to hold major polluters accountable,” he added.
According to the lawsuit, the companies and their employees have “intentionally minimized the risks posed by fossil fuels” since the 1950s because they were “aware that their products could lead to significant global warming.” New York Times.
Another seven North American states and several municipalities had already initiated similar processes, but this process, as presented by the authorities of the most populous state and which is also an oil and gas producer, will have greater consequences. “The California lawsuit is the most significant, decisive and powerful climate action against the oil and gas industry in American history,” said Richard Wiles, president of the NGO Center for Climate Integrity. NYT.
The lawsuit aims to establish a fund to address future damage caused by climate change in the state, which is suffering from wildfires, floods and other extreme phenomena fueled by global warming.
“Oil and gas executives have known for decades that dependence on fossil fuels would have these catastrophic consequences, but they have deprived the public and politicians of this information by actively promoting disinformation about this issue,” the lawsuit said.
“By downplaying the scientific consensus on global warming and emphasizing the existence of uncertainty, Defendants hoped to delay any regulatory action to reduce or control the emissions that actually threaten industry profits,” he said. the document.
Source: DN
