California lawsuit accuses oil giants of decades of deception

The State of California Sues Big Oil Companies for Climate Change-Related Disasters

The state of California is taking legal action against some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, accusing them of decades of deception that has led to billions of dollars in climate change-related disasters.

Lawsuit and Accountability

A civil lawsuit was filed on Friday in a San Francisco state Superior Court, targeting energy giants ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP. The lawsuit alleges that these companies misled the public about the dangers of fossil fuels and their impact on climate change. California aims to hold the companies accountable by requiring them to finance a fund for storm and wildfire recovery efforts, relieving the burden on taxpayer dollars.

“For more than 50 years, 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 and deception,” stated California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells. California taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill. California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable.”

Similar Lawsuits and California’s Leadership

Several other states and municipalities, including Rhode Island, Baltimore, and Honolulu, have also filed lawsuits against energy giants. However, California is now the largest economy to take legal action against the industry. According to a press release from state Attorney General Rob Bonta, California becomes the largest geographic area and economy to bring these giant oil companies to court.

“With our lawsuit, California becomes the largest geographic area and the largest economy to take these giant oil companies to court,” said Bonta. “From extreme heat to drought and water shortages, the climate crisis they have caused is undeniable. It is time they pay to abate the harm they have caused.”

Impact of Fossil Fuels and Disinformation Campaigns

The 135-page complaint filed by California states that the energy companies have been aware of the negative impact of fossil fuels on the environment since at least the 1960s. However, they downplayed the risks and launched disinformation campaigns to protect their profits, at the expense of taxpayer dollars.

The American Petroleum Institute, listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, argues that climate policy should be addressed by Congress rather than the courts. The senior vice president, Ryan Meyers, stated that these lawsuits are meritless and politicized, diverting attention from important national conversations and wasting California taxpayer resources.

Transition towards Green Initiatives

California was once a leading oil producer in the United States but has since shifted towards more sustainable initiatives due to growing scientific evidence highlighting the negative impact of gas and oil on the climate.

A recent study published in the Future of Energy Policy reveals that greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise due to increased fossil fuel burning. The study also warns that human-induced climate change could result in the premature deaths of approximately 1 billion people over the next century.

“If you take the scientific consensus of the 1,000-ton rule seriously and run the numbers, anthropogenic global warming equates to a billion premature dead bodies over the next century. Obviously, we have to act. And we have to act fast,” said Joshua Pearce, one of the study writers. The “1,000-ton rule” suggests that about one early death might occur for every 1,000 tons of fossil carbon burned.

Increase in Natural Disasters

A new government report highlights the frequency and costliness of natural disasters in the United States. According to scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the country has experienced more billion-dollar disasters in the first eight months of 2023 than in any previous year since 1980.

So far this year, the NOAA has recorded 23 separate weather and climate disasters, including severe weather events, flooding, tropical cyclones, wildfires, and winter storms. These disasters have resulted in 253 fatalities and nearly $58 billion in damages.

Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The article discusses the lawsuit filed by the state of California against major oil and gas companies for their deception regarding the dangers of fossil fuels and their impact on climate change. This directly relates to SDG 13, which focuses on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Additionally, the article mentions the need for funds to be used for storm and wildfire recovery efforts, which aligns with SDG 11’s goal of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The issue also touches upon SDG 9, as it involves the accountability of the oil and gas industry, which is a part of the infrastructure sector.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
• SDG 11.5: Reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global GDP caused by disasters
• SDG 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies

The targets identified are directly related to the issues discussed in the article. SDG 13.1 focuses on strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, which is relevant to the need for funds to be used for storm and wildfire recovery efforts. SDG 11.5 aims to reduce the number of deaths, people affected, and economic losses caused by disasters, which aligns with the article’s discussion of the impact of climate change-related disasters. SDG 9.4 emphasizes the need to upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, which is relevant to holding oil and gas companies accountable for their actions.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Number of deaths and people affected by climate-related hazards and natural disasters
• Economic losses caused by climate-related disasters relative to global GDP
• Investment in sustainable infrastructure and adoption of clean technologies by oil and gas companies

The article does not explicitly mention specific indicators, but it implies the need to measure the number of deaths and people affected by climate-related hazards and natural disasters as an indicator of progress towards SDG 11.5. Additionally, the economic losses caused by climate-related disasters relative to global GDP can serve as an indicator for the same target. In terms of SDG 9.4, measuring the investment made by oil and gas companies in sustainable infrastructure and the adoption of clean technologies can be used as an indicator of progress.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: kristv.com

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