New York City Sues Oil Companies in Climate Change Lawsuit -- 5th Update
January 10 2018 - 3:08PM
Dow Jones News
By Corinne Ramey and Mara Gay
New York City filed a lawsuit against five major oil companies,
asking for billions of dollars to protect the city from climate
change.
"In this litigation, the City seeks to shift the costs of
protecting the City from climate change impacts back onto the
companies that have done nearly all they could to create this
existential threat," said the complaint, which was filed in U.S.
District Court in Manhattan.
The complaint, filed late Tuesday, said that "the very climate
disruption and injuries that Defendants' scientists and consultants
warned them about decades ago have now arrived."
The city filed the suit against oil companies BP PLC, Chevron
Corp., ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell
PLC.
A Shell spokesman said the company believes "climate change is a
complex societal challenge that should be addressed through sound
government policy and cultural change to drive low-carbon choices
for businesses and consumers, not by the courts."
A ConocoPhillips spokesman said the company doesn't comment on
pending litigation.
A Chevron spokesman called the lawsuit "factually and legally
meritless." "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global issue
that requires global engagement," he said. "Should this litigation
proceed, it will only serve special interests at the expense of
broader policy, regulatory and economic priorities."
The other two companies didn't immediately respond to requests
for comment.
San Francisco and Oakland filed similar suits in September
against the same five companies.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott
Stringer on Wednesday also pushed the city's five major pension
funds to begin studying ways to divest from fossil fuel
investments, saying the city should take a more active role in
fighting climate change.
That kind of investment decision requires approval from the
trustees of the city's pension funds. Officials for Messrs. de
Blasio and Stringer, both Democrats, plan to present a proposal
calling on the funds to take the measures on Thursday. Some funds
may choose to accept the proposals while others may not.
Write to Corinne Ramey at Corinne.Ramey@wsj.com and Mara Gay at
mara.gay@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 10, 2018 14:53 ET (19:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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