Five Oil Major Firms Sued Over Alleged Downplaying Of Fossil Fuel Risks In California

(Photo : Getty Images/Leonardo Munoz)

The state of California has sued five major oil firms, accusing them of downplaying the risks presented by fossil fuels.

The case, filed on Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, named Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron as defendants.

It is the most major litigation to bring the fossil fuel industry to light and seek the establishment of a fund to compensate for future costs caused by climate-related calamities.

Downplayed fossil fuel risk

According to the 135-page complaint, the firms have known since at least the 1960s that burning fossil fuels will warm the world and modify the climate, but they have minimized the concern in public comments and marketing.

The report also claimed that the firms' scientists knew as early as the 1950s that the climatic implications would be catastrophic and that there was only a short window of time for people and governments to respond.

Instead, the lawsuit claims that the industries began a disinformation campaign in the 1970s to reject a growing scientific consensus on climate change and contested climate change-related hazards.

"Oil and gas company executives have known for decades that reliance on fossil fuels would cause these catastrophic results, but they suppressed that information from the public and policymakers by actively pushing out disinformation on the topic," read the 135-page complaint.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that oil companies should be held liable.

"Big Oil has been lying to us - covering up the fact that they've long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet. It has been decades of damage & deception," he added.

Big Oil has been lying to us – covering up the fact that they’ve long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet.

It has been decades of damage & deception.

With @AGRobBonta, California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable. pic.twitter.com/Qa64oBbxdO
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) September 16, 2023

Climate policy should be debated in Congress

In response, the accused American Petroleum Institute said that climate policy should be argued in Congress rather than in court.

Shell echoed the statement that the courts are not the appropriate arena for addressing global warming.

Since the current round of environmental litigation against fossil fuel companies began in 2017, the industry has attempted to avoid state court hearings on procedural grounds.

In May, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in two cases, indicating that they might proceed.

The court action shows the devastation caused by climate change in California, including record heat, wildfires, and drought.

The actions are modeled after successful cases against Big Tobacco and the pharmaceutical industry over the opioid epidemic.

The Bonta's lawsuit does not seek reimbursement for specific event-related damages but rather to establish a fund to pay for recovery from extreme weather events as well as mitigation and adaptation initiatives across the state.

Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, said the move by California to take big oil companies to court is a watershed moment in the rapidly expanding legal fight to hold major polluters accountable for decades of climate lies.