Maine has become the latest state to sue oil and gas companies over climate change, claiming that Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron and other giants waged a decades-long campaign to conceal the effects of fossil fuels and contributed to the extreme weather that has pummeled the state in recent years.
The lawsuit accuses the companies of having withheld what they knew about the consequences of fossil fuel use since the 1960s, leading to a financial burden on the state as it contends with sea-level rise, storms and warmer temperatures. The complaint, filed Tuesday in a Maine state court, includes seven alleged violations, including failure to warn, negligence, nuisance, trespass and unfair trade practices. It also names the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, which the lawsuit alleges “aided and abetted” deceptive conduct by the fossil fuel companies.
“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” said the Maine attorney general, Aaron M. Frey, a Democrat. “In so doing, they burdened the State and our citizens with the consequences of their greed and deception.”
The state said in the filing that it was seeking a jury trial and funding for past damage as well as for climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience measures in Maine.
Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said that the storms that wracked the state last winter were just “further proof that climate change is harming our lives, our health and our economy — and it is time for the fossil fuel industry to be held responsible.”
Exxon Mobil rebutted the lawsuit’s claims and said that it had invested more than $20 billion in lower-emission initiatives.
“Well over half of the households in Maine use petroleum products for home heating — a larger share than any other state,” the company said on Tuesday. “These baseless claims ignore the state’s historic dependence on oil and natural gas, do nothing to address the risks of climate change and waste taxpayer dollars.”
A spokeswoman for Shell said that the company agreed that “action is needed now on climate change” and that it supported the transition to a lower-carbon future.
“We do not believe the courtroom is the right venue to address climate change, but that smart policy from government and action from all sectors is the appropriate way to reach solutions and drive progress,” she said.
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. of the law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, which represents Chevron, pointed to recent setbacks for climate change litigation at the federal level and in lower courts, including the dismissal in July of a lawsuit by Baltimore.
“Addressing climate change requires a coordinated federal and international policy response, not meritless state court litigation attacking essential energy production,” he said.
The American Petroleum Institute did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Eight other states and numerous local and tribal governments have filed similar suits across the county; none have gone to trial yet. The legal approach is reminiscent of the campaigns that led to landmark settlements with tobacco and opioid companies. But the efforts against fossil fuel companies, generally led by Democrats, could be thwarted in higher courts.
The oil companies and their allies have sought to have the cases moved to federal courts, which are widely seen as more favorable venues for them than the lower courts. The companies argue that the regulation of interstate pollution is governed by federal law, not the state level. The U.S. Supreme Court has signaled that it may consider that question in a case brought by Honolulu against Sunoco and other companies. A decision against Honolulu there could scuttle the prospects for the whole batch of litigation.
Another case could also occlude those lawsuits. Republican-led states, spearheaded by Alabama, have asked the Supreme Court to block climate suits by filed by California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Their motion alleges that those states “assert the power to dictate the future of the American energy industry” and impose “ruinous liability and coercive remedies on energy companies.”
A somewhat related climate suit brought by New York State — but built on very different legal grounds — failed in 2019. The state attorney general had sued Exxon Mobil for securities fraud, accusing the company of having made misleading claims to investors about how it accounted for the costs of climate change regulation. A judge called the lawsuit “hyperbolic” in his decision in Exxon’s favor.
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