news
Summary
- Michigan’s Attorney General is seeking to sue Big Oil for deceiving the public about the climate impacts of fossil fuels and the costs the state has incurred as a result. The state is preparing a case to recoup expenses related to climate change damages, such as extreme weather events, rising seas, and invasive species.
- Michigan’s case would target major oil and gas companies, as well as utilities and other climate polluters, in a similar vein to past legal actions taken against industries that deceived the public, such as Big Tobacco.
- This lawsuit is part of a larger trend of states and communities holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for their role in delaying action on climate change through campaigns of denial and deception.
- The evidence of deception by the oil industry is mounting, leading to increased scrutiny and litigation against major oil companies across the country.
Attorney General Dana Nessel just announced that Michigan is taking steps to sue Big Oil, arguing that the companies that hid the dangers of burning fossil fuels should bear the costs of climate damages now facing communities across the state.
“Big Oil caused these problems and they ought to pay the expenses related to these damages,” Nessel told The Detroit News.
According to a request released by the attorney general’s office today, Nessel will seek proposals from law firms and attorneys to serve as Special Assistant Attorney General in a case against oil majors for “deceiving the public about the climate changes that they knew their products would cause, and for the costs the State of Michigan has spent and will continue to spend to address and recover from the impacts of climate change.”
Read the full post at ExxonKnews.
