The current residents of the White House can deny climate change all they want, but a growing number of states, towns, and municipalities across the United States are moving in the opposite direction. The cities of San Francisco and Oakland have filed two separate lawsuits against oil companies Chevron, Exxon, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and ConocoPhillips, seeking billions of dollars to fund the infrastructure they will need in the face of sea-level rise driven by their activity.
A Growing Wave of Climate Lawsuits
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that the installation cost for photovoltaic systems had fallen to just 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. In other words, it makes less and less sense to keep betting on non-renewable energy sources, but beyond the transition that is taking place, we also have to deal with the consequences of having used them for so long. Some cities have decided to target the main oil producers, and the first legal clashes are already visible. In July, the city of Imperial Beach and the municipalities (counties) of Marin and San Mateo in California filed lawsuits against Chevron, Exxon, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and ConocoPhillips, but now it is the turn of San Francisco and Oakland, essentially forming a common front across the bay.
The plaintiffs accuse the oil companies of having funded public relations campaigns to deny or discredit the scientific consensus on climate change, minimize the harm and risks of global warming, and even go so far as to launch personal attacks against the scientists involved. The whole legal context bears enormous similarity to the famous wave of lawsuits that hit the tobacco industry in the mid-1990s. At that time, more than 40 states filed actions seeking compensation under a basic notion: the tobacco companies had caused a public health crisis, and they had to pay. In the case of the oil companies, they are considered responsible for the rise in sea level, and the goal is for them to pay the necessary infrastructure to combat its effects.
The Price Tag for Rising Seas
How much money are we talking about? San Francisco indicated that a containment wall with a length of 4.8 kilometers to prevent flooding in the Embarcadero area will cost 500 million dollars, while Oakland will have to invest 56 million dollars in protecting the area near its international airport.
Oil Companies Push Back
The oil companies' position is that the lawsuits have no merit, respond to very specific interests, and that the problem of climate change cannot be resolved in the courts, but they will present their defense anyway. The fight will be very long.
