Last September several major cities in California sued 5 major energy producers over climate change. Now New York City and major cities in the Northeast have followed suit. I hope EVERYbody in the United States does too. They got it coming.

New York City Sues Energy Companies Over Climate Change

City officials say the five companies sued knew about the threat of climate change from the burning of fossil fuels, but have continued their business practices regardless

By Colby Hamilton | UPDATEDJan 10, 2018 at 03:37 PM

The city of New York wants to lay the realities of climate change at the feet of the energy companies the city says are responsible.

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York this week, counsel for the city allege that Exxon Mobil Corp., BP, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co. and Shell produced, marketed and sold “massive quantities” of fossil fuels, despite knowing “for decades” the impact their use would have on the environment.

That there is a social shared responsibility for climate changing behavior “is a myth,” the city claims. The companies—the five largest in the world as measured by cumulative carbon and methane pollution, according to the city—are responsible for 11 percent of all fossil fuel-related emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Their industry-leading “public relations strategy … downplaying the risks of climate change and promoting fossil fuel use despite the risks” makes them further liable, according to the city.

“New York City is standing up for future generations by becoming the first major city to divest our pension funds from fossil fuels,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “At the same time, we’re bringing the fight against climate change straight to the fossil fuel companies that knew about its effects and intentionally misled the public to protect their profits. As climate change continues to worsen, it’s up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient.”

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Go there and read. More next week.

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