Two federal courts agreed with that argument and dismissed cases brought by San Francisco, Oakland and New York City. Disclaimer: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and its collaborative partners take no position on the diverse views presented in linked material within the database, nor can we guarantee the factual accuracy of all the articles and reports we make available. ", Climate change costs cotton farmers billions, Climate change measures on the line in the 2022 midterms, Major glaciers will be gone by 2050 due to climate change, U.N. warns, Europe temperatures increased more than twice global average, report says, "The Rule of Five," on arguing climate change before the Supreme Court, Mayor John Tecklenburg, Charleston, South Carolina, William Tong, Attorney General of Connecticut, "The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court". The California lawsuits are part of a wave of litigation against fossil fuel companies, alleging they not only contributed to climate change but actively worked to discredit climate science and . Correspondent Ben Tracy asked, "Can you raise taxes high enough to cover these costs?". Then, in March 2020, the city and county of Honolulu joined fifteen other communities and one trade association suing fossil fuel companies for climate damages. Reply STOP to cancel. The world's most polluting companies are increasingly being targeted by lawsuits challenging their inaction on climate change and attempts to spread misinformation, according to a new report. Experts see a "resilient" U.S. economy. Many Americans (29%), however, say they do not know or provide alternative answers. In May 2020, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court's decision to remand the case to state courts. In the span of four years, there's been a flurry of litigation aimed at holding the oil and gas industry accountable for its role in spreading climate . Copyright 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. On 17 July 2017, three local governments in California (San Mateo County, Marin County, and the City of Imperial Beach) filed a lawsuit against 37 fossil fuel companies including BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Peabody Energy, Shell and Statoil. The legal developments are thus all the more welcome for the prospect that they can change company behavior and finally help hold these companies accountable for the climate damage they have wrought. As a result, the lawsuit claims, communities in Hawai'i are now facing increased flooding, more extreme weather . The Baltimore case is one of more than 20 similar suits brought by cities, states and counties in recent years. The fact that scientists have questions about their data is unremarkable; that's what scientists do. Perhaps most importantly, several companies have not even taken the most basic steps to put their own houses in order. The lawsuit argues that the companies knew that emissions from combustion of oil, gas and . Organizers of the. And determined children have filed lawsuits against the federal government and various state governments, claiming the governments have an obligation to safeguard the environment. Dec. 20, 2017: Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County file lawsuits in California Superior Court against 29 fossil fuel companies, seeking compensation for climate change-related damage. October 19, 2022 / 7:27 AM / CBS/AP Jersey City New Jersey officials announced a lawsuit Tuesday against five oil and gas companies and a petroleum trade organization, alleging they had. But the early victories that keep these lawsuits in state courts may make such disclosure inevitable. We are also publishing new interactive maps that depict the geographic variation in opinions about responsibility for global warming damages. "It's like any big project; you gotta look under every rock," Tecklenburg replied. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The News Journal writes that Delaware's attorney general has also launched a lawsuit against 31 fossil fuel companies, ranging from Chevron to BP. Marlon, J., Wang, X., Gustafson, A., Ballew, M., Goldberg, M., Rosenthal, S., Leiserowitz, A. Although we have seen some statements of support by fossil fuel companies for policies such as a national carbon fee and dividend, and even some thoughtful deep decarbonization scenarios, the industry for the most part continues to fight vigorously against climate policies, such as recently spending $30 million to defeat a carbon tax initiative in Washington state. Two federal courts agreed with that argument and dismissed cases brought bySan Francisco,OaklandandNew York City. The total sample size was 5,131, with an average margin of error of +/- 1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The oil and gas company, which is nearly entirely state-owned, said Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, it also saw a 90% surge in net profits for the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same time last year . On September 7, Adani stepped into the green hydrogen ring, announcing that the group aims to produce three million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030, compared to the earlier target of 2.5 million tonnes. The Minnesota Attorney General followed on June 24, filing a lawsuit in state court against ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute (API). Instead of acting to reduce. Underneath one of those rocks are the fossil fuel companies. Snapshot: In 2017, three local governments in California filed a lawsuit against 37 fossil fueld companies, including BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell. The Golden State has been the epicenter of climate liability lawsuits brought by local governments against major fossil fuel companies, with eight communities taking legal action so far. In a new nationally representative survey, we asked Americans how much they think global warming is harming their local communities, who they think is responsible for paying the costs from the associated damages, and whether they support lawsuits to make fossil fuel companies pay for a portion of local damages. Global warming, in turn, results in more extreme weather, droughts, wildfires, and flooding from sea level rise. He points to ads that look like editorials from ExxonMobil, as well as their executives' own words, including the 1996 statement by Lee Raymond (then the CEO of Exxon) that "the scientific evidence remains inconclusive as to whether human activities affect the global climate. Additionally, summed response categories (e.g., strongly support + somewhat support) are rounded after sums are calculated (e.g., 25.3% + 25.3% = 50.6%, which, after rounding would appear in a chart as 25% + 25% = 51%). Since publication, a number of cases have progressed and new lawsuits have been filed. To watch "The Greening of Planet Earth," a 1992 video produced by the Western Fuels Association, click on the player below: "CBS Sunday Morning" reached out to several of the companies. The companies have six weeks to appeal. At the time, many, including me, hoped these legal actions would reveal the truth about climate deception and create leverage to persuade these companies to get out of the business of opposing necessary governmental climate solutions. San Mateo County, Marin County and City of Imperial Beach full complaints Snapshot: In 2017, three local governments in California filed a lawsuit against 37 fossil fueld companies, including BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell. Climate Change, Energy, Science and Democracy, Kristy Dahl Rhode Island's case had been cleared to advance in state court, which the fossil fuel companies are challenging. Let's downplay the fact of climate change,'" Tong said. The case is currently on hold in state court pending Supreme Court rulings in unrelated litigation involving auto manufacturers . Anne Arundel County has filed a lawsuit against more than two dozen fossil fuel companies over the costs of dealing with the fallout of climate change. Delaware, the home state of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, announced on Thursday, September 10 that it is taking dozens of major oil and gas companies including BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil to court over the rising costs of climate impacts such as sea level rise and coastal flooding. Why does this matter? These data come from five survey waves conducted from November 30, 2018 to January 6, 2019 using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, a representative online panel of U.S. adults (18+). A blog on science, politics, and activism. Jan. 9, 2018: New York . You're browsing our English site, so by default we are only showing content in English. We speak to experts about the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism and how it works. But the fossil fuel companies removed them to federal court, contending that federal law should preempt state law, and that federal law allows no such lawsuits. In addition, ExxonMobil and Shell said these lawsuits do nothing to advance that goal. One carbon proxy had a high range of prices to show investors that the company was factoring in the cost of global warming emissions in its business decisions, but a second carbon proxy had a lower, undisclosed carbon price that it used for actual business decisions. However, the question about who should pay for most or all of the costs of damages from global warming was included in only one survey wave (N= 1,000; margin of error +/- 3 percentage points) and is therefore excluded from maps. Connecticut then followed with a lawsuit singularly targeting ExxonMobil, which remains one of the largest oil companies in the world and appears determined to double down on its core fossil fuel business despite knowing decades ago about the climate consequences of using its products. Although lawsuits are decided in the court of law, the court of public opinion also plays a critical role in shaping the local, state, national, and international response to climate change. Federal District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson ruled in County of Maui v. Be the first to hear about new surveys and studies. File photo by Josh Kurtz. Federal Court Dismissed New York City's Lawsuit Against Fossil Fuel Companies. So far, the industry has filed a series of motions, slowing down the cases. Baltimore was one of the first places to file a lawsuit seeking damages from fossil fuel companies. The challenge will be causation, to prove that their fraudulent behavior is what prevented the United States from passing the laws we needed to reduce those greenhouse gas emissions.". Many are among the largest fossil fuel companies in the world, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron. Several of these state and local governments are now winning major procedural skirmishes over whether federal courts or state courts should hear these cases. (An excellent summary of this litigation, is availablehere). On October 10, the Massachusetts Attorney Generals office notified ExxonMobil that it intends to file suit against the company, claiming that the company acted deceptively with respect to the dangers of fossil fuel consumption. Several climate change lawsuits against fossil fuel companies and governments are now proceeding to trial and one suit may even yield a verdict soon. "The federal government has had the very same information that they're saying that the energy companies had going back to the 1960s and '70s and '80s. October 23, 2019. But on Wednesday, New York's lawsuit, alleging the company mislead investors, is set to go to trial in state . Alongside its core work providing a platform for Human Rights advocates, the Resource Centre runs several focused programme areas and regularly releases briefings and reports on areas of particular interest. One of a series of 1991 newspaper ads from the Information Council for the Environment, an energy industry group. The fossil fuel companies argue that cases against them should be heard in federal court in part because they were issued leases by the federal government, which they say qualifies them as "federal officers." . Only 12% of Americans think taxpayers and fossil fuel companies should pay an equal share, and just 6% think taxpayers should pay for most or all of the costs. The case is ongoing. Editor: Ed Givnish. A lawsuit by Vancouver against fossil-fuel companies would be significant given the industry's importance in Canada, one of the world's top oil producers, said Kathryn Harrison, a. Particularly stunning is the revelation that ExxonMobil used two sets of numbers, or carbon proxies, (i.e. They are seeking compensation for the current and future costs of adapting to the consequences of climate change, such as sea level rises. Copyright 2022 CADEIO Care For Creation | All Rights Reserved. Nearly four years ago, the state attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts launched investigations of ExxonMobil for climate change deception; since 2017, several municipalities have filed lawsuits against major fossil fuel companies seeking damages for the costs of climate change adaptation and resilience. All of these lawsuits were originally filed in state court. Maui County scores a victory in lawsuit against fossil fuel companies News Release from County of Maui, Feb 12, 2021 Today a federal court dealt a blow to fossil fuel companies sued by the County of Maui for costs associated with the impacts of climate change. ", And an on-camera host declares, "As more and more scientists are confirming, our world is deficient in carbon dioxide.". Richmond, California has become the ninth city in less than a year to bring major fossil fuel companies to court over climate change. In it, Dr. Sherwood Idso states, "A doubling of the CO2 content of the atmosphere will produce a tremendous greening of Planet Earth. While fossil fuel companies have been fighting to have these lawsuits moved to federal court, where they expect more favorable judgments, state courts will rightly hear these cases locally, where the concerns of residents are front and center. In May, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dealt another blow to fossil fuel company defendants in climate liability lawsuits. In the span of four years, theres been a flurry of litigation aimed at holding the oil and gas industry accountable for its role in spreading climate change disinformation and making the climate crisis worse. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit marked . Baltimore's lawsuit is the 13th to be filed against oil and gas companies. It is worth remembering that, in the early days of litigation against tobacco companies, plaintiffs routinely lost their cases, and saw little tangible benefit from the litigation. It is the third lawsuit filed in the last few months targeting API, which had been left out of an earlier wave of climate lawsuits. (617) 547-5552. But the fossil fuel companies removed them to federal court, contending that federal law should preempt state law, and that federal law allows no such lawsuits. The claims may parallel the New York lawsuit mentioned above, but could also include claims that consumers, in addition to investors, were deceived. Jan. 8, 2018: Exxon asks a Texas court to grant a discovery order allowing the company to question officials in counties and cities suing. The city of Charleston filed a lawsuit Wednesday in state court against two dozen major oil and pipeline companies, alleging their products and the spread of misinformation about fossil fuels have . Former Contributor. Fossil Fuel Giants Seek Billions From European Countries Under Secretive Treaty Fossil fuel companies in Europe are using an international treaty signed nearly three decades ago to challenge several governments' ability to take climate actionexemplifying why, critics said Monday, the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty is a major impediment to transitioning away from planet-heating fossil fuels and . Almost all of the lawsuits feature one central claim that oil companies committed a public nuisance, which is an unreasonable interference with the rights of the public. We find that about half of Americans (53%) think global warming is harming their local community either a moderate amount or a great deal. Fewer think global warming is harming their community only a little (19%) or not at all (16%). Some desperate homeowners have resorted to raising their homes by several feet. If so, it will represent a new legal theory based on fraud. But as France, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland revolt, energy companies are on notice. March 15, 2022 History was made in Hawaii recently when a state judge ruled that a lawsuit seeking damages from major oil and gas companies for their climate disinformation campaigns can move. "We're gonna find a way to fund the improvements that we need," he replied. Because of that, we could be witnessing a pivotal moment in these cases. "This is a strategy document from ExxonMobil that basically says, 'Let's lie. The pressure brought on so many fronts through this litigation may already be having an effect on the companies and on public opinion, but it is critical to keep it up. Deputy Director of Climate and Energy, Meghan Hassett You must be a registered member to view the CADEIO Care for Creation directory. / CBS News. Some point to a 1992 video, backed primarily by the coal industry, promoting the benefits of pumping more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 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