How cities and states could finally hold fossil fuel companies accountable

Up until the last decade, climate change-related lawsuits were relatively rare.

But since the start of 2016, more than 700 suits have been filed in the US.

Many of these cases target the government – some for weakening environmental laws, others for enforcing regulations that plaintiffs argue are unconstitutional.

But across the US, there are 26 cases that are unique.

In the last few years, cities and states have started suing oil and gas companies for their role in the climate crisis.

Most of them argue the oil and gas companies caused a public nuisance – that the fossil fuel industry made areas less livable for people, often forcing the government to use public funds to fix the problem.

The city of Imperial Beach, California, is suing fossil fuel companies for their role in causing rising sea levels, which are forcing the city to build a sea wall.

The city’s budget is less than Exxon CEO Darren Woods’ annual pay.

Many of these lawsuits focus on consumer protection. They argue that oil and gas companies lied to the public about what they knew about their products.

For example, the state of Delaware is suing 31 fossil fuel companies for promoting misleading greenwashing campaigns, as well as deceitful communication like this 2018 blogpost from Shell's chief climate change adviser.

These 26 lawsuits are critical.

They could force US petroleum giants to reveal what they knew about the harmful effects of burning fossil fuels – and how they misled the public to protect their profits.

Explore the lawsuits by clicking on the map.

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