The lawsuit is similar to legal efforts in Colorado, California, and New York
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| The county that has sued the oil giants includes Seattle Getty Images |
King County — a large county in the northwest of the state that includes Seattle — filed suit against British Petroleum, Chevron, Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, and Conocophillips, with attorneys for the county arguing that those oil giants should help pay for the “hundreds of millions of dollars” that is expected to be needed to adapt to changing conditions created by climate change.
Those five companies, the lawsuit reads, knowingly sold a product with the potential for massive consequences. Comment requests sent to the companies were not immediately returned.
“This egregious state of affairs is no accident. Rather, it is an unlawful public nuisance of the first order,” court filings read.
“The use of fossil fuels — oil, natural gas, and coal — is the primary source of the greenhouse gas pollution that causes global warming, a point that scientists settled years ago,” the filing continues, noting that a 2015 investigation revealed that scientists for the fossil fuel industry knew for decades that climate change posed a threat, but that the companies allegedly did not adequately disclose those dangers to the public or its stockholders.
Exxon, one of the companies that was implicated in that 2015, has said that it did not act in any way inconsistently with its knowledge about climate change.
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| Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella |
““The science is undisputable: climate change is impacting our region today, and it will only cause greater havoc and hardships in the future,” Mr Constantine said in a statement.
“The companies that profited the most from fossil fuels should help bear the costs of managing these disasters. Big Oil spent many decades disregarding and dismissing what is our most pressing generational challenge. We must hold these companies accountable as we marshal our resources to protect and preserve what makes this region great.”
The lawsuit is at least the 11th lawsuit of its kind filed against oil and gas companies this year. The Washington county joins the likes of Boulder, Colorado — which is currently the only landlocked locality to be suing for climate change adaptation costs — as well as communities in New York and California.
“The average person should know we’re finally dealing with the costs of climate change. Irrespective of weather, this is a big concern to you,” Richard Wiles, the executive director of the Centre for Climate Integrity, told The Independent when Boulder filed its lawsuit last month.
Links
- First landlocked US city sues oil industry over climate change
- Four Climate Change Lawsuits To Watch In 2018
- Company Directors Can Be Legally Liable For Failing To Manage Climate Change Risks - Report
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- California Sues Trump Administration Over Car Emissions Rules
- California, 17 Other States Sue Trump Administration To Defend Obama-Era Climate Rules For Vehicles
- The Fighting Has Begun Over Who Owns Land Drowned By Climate Change
- From Australia To El Salvador To Vietnam, The Environment Is Finally Getting Its Day In Court
- The Case For Climate Reparations
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