A general view of oil drilling equipment on federal land near Fellows, California, U.S., April 15, 2023. Portal/Nichola Groom/File Photo Acquire License Rights
Sept 16 (Portal) – The state of California has sued major oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Shell PLC (SHEL.L) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N), accusing them of downplaying the risks associated with fossil fuels fuels, according to a court filing Friday.
The lawsuit, which also targets BP (BP.L) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N), alleges that the energy giants’ actions caused tens of billions of dollars in damages and accuses them of misleading the public, as in filed in a superior court in San Francisco showed it.
The case also listed the American Petroleum Institute, an industry and trade group, as a defendant, according to the filing.
California has sought to establish a mitigation fund to cover future damages caused by climate-related disasters in the state, the filing shows.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, “California is taking action to hold major polluters accountable.”
The lawsuit follows dozens of lawsuits filed in recent years by states and local governments across the United States against the fossil fuel industry, broadly alleging damages from climate impacts, including extreme weather.
The American Petroleum Institute said in an email response to Portal that debating and deciding climate policy is a matter for Congress, not the court system.
Shell reiterated that sentiment in an emailed statement, saying, “We do not believe the courtroom is the right place to address climate change.”
BP declined to comment, while Chevron and ConocoPhillips did not immediately respond to Portal requests for comment. Exxon Mobil could not immediately be reached.
Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Lavanya Ahire in Bangalore and Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Mark Potter, Diane Craft and David Gregorio
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