Multnomah County, Oregon, filed a lawsuit Thursday against 17 oil companies and related agencies, accusing fossil fuel pollution of contributing to the 2021 heatwave that killed dozens of Oregonians.
The county had three record-breaking days in the 2021 heatwave, with temperatures reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit, 112 degrees Fahrenheit, and 116 degrees Fahrenheit. A “heat dome” of hot ocean air trapped in the atmosphere caused a heat wave that killed at least 69 residents.
In Portland, Multnomah County, the heat dome accounts for more than half of the 69 deaths statewide.
County officials cited research by the World Meteorological Attribution Group. determined the heat wave Without human-caused climate change, it would have been “virtually impossible.”
The lawsuit includes ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, Motiva, Occidental Petroleum, Space Age Fuel, Valero Energy, Total Specialties USA, Marathon Petroleum, Peabody Energy, Cork Industries, among others. , two industry groups, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Western States Petroleum Institute — the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. It also names Anadarko Petroleum, which was acquired by Occidental in 2019.
“This lawsuit is about accountability and fairness, and I believe the people of Multnomah County deserve both. These companies know their products are unsafe and harmful. and lied about it,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson. “They have made huge profits from the lies and the rest of us have to suffer the consequences and pay the damages. We say enough is enough.”
County officials are seeking more than $50 billion in damages from the plaintiffs, including funds to prepare for future climate change impacts.
So far, 35 local governments, seven states and the District of Columbia have sued the oil industry for the effects of climate change, according to the Center for Climate Health.
The lawsuit incorporates a variety of legal theories and approaches, including consumer protection, product liability, and the Corrupt Organizations Under Influence Act.
The Multnomah County lawsuit specifically accuses the defendants of negligence, fraud and public nuisance.
“There are no new laws or novel theories being asserted here,” said Jeffrey Simon, a partner at the Simon Greenstone Panatier Office (PC), which the county employs, in a statement. “We allege that the defendants have broken a long-standing relationship, and we intend to prove it to a jury.”
Those named in the lawsuit have condemned the effort.
Ryan Myers, senior vice president and general counsel at API, said, “The ongoing and coordinated campaign to bring nonsensical lawsuits against our industry is distracting from important issues and reducing the tax burden. It’s just a huge waste of human resources,” he said in a statement to The Hill. “Climate policy is debated and decided by Congress, not by the court system.”
A Shell spokesperson told The Hill that “tackling climate change requires a collaborative, whole-of-society approach.” “We do not believe that the courts are the right place to tackle climate change, but prudent government policy and action across all sectors is the right way to reach solutions and promote progress. I think.”
“Meeting the challenge of global climate change requires a coordinated policy response. These lawsuits are a counterproductive distraction from advancing international policy solutions,” said Chevron. Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s general counsel, Theodore Boutlas, said in a statement. “The Federal Constitution prohibits these novel and unfounded allegations that target specific industries and groups of companies engaged in legitimate activities that bring significant benefits to society.”
A ConocoPhillips spokeswoman said the company does not comment on the ongoing lawsuit.
The Hill has reached out to the other defendants for comment.
— Updated at 12:22pm
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