(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
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The Case for Prosecuting Fossil Fuel Companies for Homicide [1]
['Aaron Regunberg', 'David Arkush', 'Kate Aronoff', 'Heather Souvaine Horn', 'Steve Brooks', 'Juan Moreno Haines', 'Nick Tabor']
Date: 2024-03-10
“Climate change is not a tragedy, it’s a crime.” This refrain, increasingly common among climate activists, encapsulates rising moral outrage at major fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP as more information has come to light about their knowledge and conduct regarding global warming. The essential fact pattern is this: Fossil fuel companies have long understood—with shocking accuracy—that their fossil fuel products would cause, in their own words, “globally catastrophic” climate change. Instead of shifting their business model or at least alerting the public to this threat, the companies concealed what they knew and executed a multimillion-dollar disinformation campaign to spread doubt about climate science. They did this while privately acting on the predictions of climate science to protect their own business operations, for example by raising the height of offshore platforms in anticipation of sea-level rise. Internal documents show that their goal in deceiving the public was to delay or block policy or market responses that would curb their lethal but highly profitable conduct. They achieved this goal spectacularly, making trillions of dollars from their deception while most of humanity pays an increasingly devastating price.
A growing movement wants to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for this deception. The reality that polluters knew about climate change, lied about it, and should face meaningful consequences is an effective political narrative, and climate liability litigation is an increasingly promising strategy. More than 40 states, municipalities, and tribal nations are currently suing fossil fuel companies to make them pay for the damage they’ve caused. After years of frustration, climate litigants are now making meaningful procedural progress and have even notched a first win.
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[1] Url:
https://newrepublic.com/article/179624/fossil-fuel-companies-prosecute-climate-homicide
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