“The tides are turning in favor of fossil fuel accountability”
Boston, MA — Today, a Massachusetts judge gave state Attorney General Maura Healey’s the greenlight to sue Exxon “ASAP” for deceiving consumers and investors about the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change. Healey filed suit shortly after Exxon lost its appeal to delay the suit yet again. On Tuesday, over 50 New Yorkers rallied in solidarity on the opening day of the expected three week NY v. Exxon trial where New York Attorney General Letitia James is bringing Exxon to court for misleading shareholders on accounting climate risk and costs.
On Wednesday, a House oversight subcommittee on civil rights held a hearing on Exxon executives’ decades-long and ongoing deception campaign to sow disinformation about the reality of climate change.
In response, Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, 350.org North America Director, issued the following response:
“The tides are turning in favor of fossil fuel accountability. We thank Attorney General Healey for her vigilance and diligence in standing with the people in the fight to hold the likes of Exxon liable for its climate crimes. Like Big Tobacco, Exxon continues to fight every effort to hold them accountable. As wildfires crisp the West, and we approach the seventh anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Exxon and its oily accomplices have put us on a first-name basis with climate chaos. People across the nation and around the world are escalating the demand to hold fossil fuel billionaires responsible, and make polluters pay for care and repair.”
Exxon is facing several other lawsuits, including a class action suit brought by shareholders on similar climate fraud grounds, and more than a dozen liability cases brought by cities, counties and the state of Rhode Island.
This comes one month after 7.6 million people marched in Global Climate Strikes demanding transformative climate action. A Yale poll conducted earlier this year revealed a majority of people in America believe fossil fuel companies should pay for the climate crisis.
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Contact: Lindsay Meiman, [email protected], +1 (347) 460-9082