A county in the northwestern state of Oregon has taken legal action against major fossil fuel companies, seeking more than $51 billion in damages for the 2021 “Heat Dome,” one of the deadliest weather-related disasters in the United States.
Multnomah County, home to Portland, the state’s most populous city, alleges that the companies’ historical carbon pollution, coupled with their deliberate misinformation about the impact, worsened the heat wave.
According to County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, “This event is a direct result of the effects we are witnessing on our climate due to the actions of fossil fuel companies and their efforts to deny climate science for decades.
The county is seeking $50 million in immediate damages from the Heat Dome disaster and $1.5 billion for future damages, as extreme heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and smoky skies become more prevalent.
In addition, it is requesting a much larger sum of $50 billion for a long-term “abatement fund” to upgrade and climate-proof the county’s infrastructure.
The unprecedented heatwave, which occurred from late June to mid-July 2021, devastated the western United States and Canada, resulting in a record high temperature of 121.3 degrees Fahrenheit (49.6 degrees Celsius) in Lytton, British Columbia, and an estimated 1,400 deaths.
A peer-reviewed analysis by the World Weather Attribution group concluded that the phenomenon would have been nearly impossible without human-induced climate change.
The combination of global warming and a persistent high-pressure system over the Pacific Northwest created an oven-like effect in the typically mild region.
Increasing Litigation
Multnomah County’s lawsuit names major oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and BP, as well as trade groups like the American Petroleum Institute and Western States Petroleum Association, and consultancy firm McKinsey & Company.
The lawsuit claims that over a three-day period starting on June 25, 2021, the county experienced record-breaking temperatures, peaking at 116F (46.7C), resulting in 69 deaths, extensive property damage, and significant financial burdens on taxpayers.
“The heat dome was a direct and predictable consequence of the Defendants’ persistent sale of fossil fuel products over the past six decades,” the lawsuit states.
It further asserts that the defendants misled the county, the public, and the scientific community about the catastrophic harm caused by the pollution from their products released into the Earth’s and the county’s atmosphere.
In response to the lawsuit, an ExxonMobil spokesperson stated, “Lawsuits like these continue to waste time and resources and do not address climate change.”
Chevron’s lawyers echoed Exxon’s sentiment, calling the lawsuits “counterproductive distractions” from finding global policy solutions.
Multnomah County joins numerous cities, counties, and states across the US in suing fossil fuel companies for their role in climate change and spreading disinformation over several decades.
Since the wave of litigation began in 2017, the industry has attempted to avoid state trials on procedural grounds. However, their efforts suffered a setback when the Supreme Court declined to hear appeals in two related cases in May, allowing the lawsuits to proceed.
Analogous to Tobacco and Pharma Cases
These lawsuits draw inspiration from successful cases against the tobacco industry and pharmaceutical companies regarding the proliferation of opioids.
According to attorney Roger Worthington, who is representing the county, “We are not asserting any new laws or novel theories here. We maintain that the Defendants violated long-standing laws, and we will prove it in court.”
In a separate case that attracted attention, young people in Montana sued their government, alleging violations of their state’s constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment.
They are not seeking monetary damages but rather a declaration that the regulations allowing agencies to disregard climate impacts when approving fossil fuel projects are unconstitutional. The trial is awaiting a verdict.
“Climate litigation across the country and the world is empowering communities to resist the fossil fuel industry’s attempts to perpetuate a dangerous, unjust, and destructive energy system and economy,” said Delta Merner, a climate litigation expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Richard Wiles, President of the Center for Climate Integrity, added, “Communities should not bear the burden of these catastrophic climate damages while the companies responsible continue to spread misinformation and profit tremendously.”
© 2023 AFP
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