California’s recent lawsuit against five of the largest oil and gas companies in the world could be a game-changer in the decadeslong fight to hold them accountable for allegedly creating climate change-related harm.
California v. Exxon, et al, filed Sept. 15 in San Francisco County Superior Court, alleges oil and gas companies have known for decades that burning fossil fuels leads to climate change. “California taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for billions of dollars in damages — wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “With this lawsuit, California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable and deliver the justice our people deserve.”
New housing bill collides with concerns over rent-controlled housing The City must build homes rapidly, but not at the cost of rent-controlled housing BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon couldn’t be reached for comment prior to publication. Chevron told KPIX and CNBC that climate change “requires a coordinated international policy response, not piecemeal litigation for the benefit of lawyers and politicians.”In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, six justices ruled that the EPA — not states —has the authority to set the amount of pollution reduction that power plants need to meet under the Clean Air Act.