Scott Fallon, NorthJersey.com
Tue, October 18, 2022 at 3:35 PM·4 min read
Gov. Phil Murphy's administration sued five fossil fuel companies and their trade group Tuesday for "systematically concealing" information that the burning of oil and gas has contributed to a warming planet and more intense storms that have hammered New Jersey in recent years.
The lawsuit, filed in Mercer County, alleges that Exxon Mobil, Shell Oil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute have known for decades that fossil fuels are a major cause of climate change.
But instead of warning the public, they waged a public relations campaign to sow doubt "with the goal of confusing the public, delaying the transition to a lower carbon economy and future, increasing their own profits, and further deepening dependence on their products," according to the lawsuit.
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Scott Lauermann, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Insititute, did not address any of the allegations.
“The record of the past two decades demonstrates that the industry has achieved its goal of providing affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint," he said in a statement.
Global carbon dioxide emissions have increased by about 90% since 1970, with emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industry contributing about 78% of the total greenhouse gas emissions increase from 1970 to 2011, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The lawsuit comes just weeks before the 10th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, whose record storm surge devastated the Jersey Shore and many riverfront communities in North Jersey, including Little Ferry, Moonachie and Hoboken.
It was announced at a news conference at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, which was inundated with Sandy floodwaters, by Attorney General Matthew Platkin; Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection; andCari Fais, acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs.
New Jersey joins a number of cities and states that have filed similar lawsuits against fossil fuel companies in recent years, including Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The overwhelming majority of scientists, peer-reviewed studies and government agencies have shown that the planet is warming due in large part to human activity. Burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and gasoline has increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, preventing heat from escaping into space.
Scientists for fossil fuel companies have known for decades that carbon dioxide produced by their products could affect global climate, news reports have shown.
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"The industry took these internal scientific findings seriously, investing heavily to protect its own assets and infrastructure from rising seas, stronger storms, and other climate change impacts," New Jersey's lawsuit reads. "But rather than warn consumers and the public, fossil fuel companies and their surrogates mounted a disinformation campaign to discredit the scientific consensus on climate change."
New Jersey has experienced an increase in temperature of at least 3 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. All of New Jersey's 10 warmest years have come since 1990.
While scientists cannot say climate change is the root cause for a single weather event such as Sandy, they say a warming ocean will create more intense and frequent storms with damaging wind, larger volumes of rain and more potent storm surges. New Jersey was hit by Tropical Storms Fay and Isaias in 2020 and Henri and Ida in 2021, the latter of which killed 30 people.
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The lawsuit is seeking a yet-to-be-determined amount in natural resource damages for the loss of wetlands in New Jersey, saying taxpayers should not pay to protect communities from climate-related harms.
Platkin likened the lawsuit to others brought by states against tobacco and opioid manufacturers that brought back hundreds of millions of dollars. "We’re suing the largest companies in the world, and the damages are going to be significant," he said.
Some Republican lawmakers and business groups criticized the move saying it will hurt consumers. Advocates say it will help speed the transition to renewable energy like solar and wind.
"Climate change is an important issue, but remedies require a unified national and international approach coupled with technological advancements from our business and manufacturing communities," said Ray Cantor, an executive at the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.
The Murphy administration is not the first New Jersey entity to make this move. Two years ago, Hoboken sued Exxon Mobil, the American Petroleum Institute and others over climate change damage, saying the entities had engaged in a "decades-long campaign of misinformation related to climate change and its devastating impact" on the city.
Tuesday's legal action coincides with a push by the Democratic-controlled Legislature to pull investments made with New Jersey's $92 billion pension fund from fossil fuel companies. Divest NJ, a group advocating for the measure, estimates that those investments are worth $3 million to $4 million based on documents it has obtained.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ sues oil, gas industry, alleging climate change deceit
Tue, October 18, 2022 at 2:33 PM·3 min read
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D) on Tuesday announced a lawsuit against five fossil fuel companies and the American Petroleum Institute (API), alleging they misled the public on their products’ role in climate change.
In the lawsuit, Platkin and the state Department of Environmental Protection and Division of Consumer Affairs alleged Chevron, Exxon Mobil, BP, ConocoPhillips, Shell and API “systematically” concealed and denied knowledge of fossil fuels’ role in climate change. The lawsuit further accuses the defendants of mounting public relations campaigns to cast doubt on the facts of climate change despite their knowledge of the industry’s contributions to it.
The lawsuit cites documented instances of implied knowledge of climate change by the defendants dating back decades, such as investments in raised oil platforms to account for sea-level rise and a 1973 Exxon patent for a cargo ship that could break through sea ice. Even further back, the plaintiffs allege, the company that would eventually become ConocoPhillips obtained a patent in 1966 for an early form of carbon sequestration technology.
Emissions from greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, are the predominant driver of climate change.
The plaintiffs further accuse the defendants of ongoing greenwashing, or misrepresenting the environmental benefits of their products and services, despite an analysis indicating that between 2010 and 2018, none of the companies spent more than 2.3 percent of total capital on low-carbon energy.
“Based on their own research, these companies understood decades ago that their products were causing climate change and would have devastating environmental impacts down the road,” Platkin said in a statement. “They went to great lengths to hide the truth and mislead the people of New Jersey, and the world. In short, these companies put their profits ahead of our safety. It’s long overdue that the facts be aired in a New Jersey court, and the perpetrators of the disinformation campaign pay for the harms they’ve caused.”
Reached for comment, an API spokesperson told The Hill, “The record of the past two decades demonstrates that the industry has achieved its goal of providing affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint. Any suggestion to the contrary is false.”
Chevron counsel Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., of Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher said in a statement to The Hill called the complaint “a special-interest lawsuit asking the Superior Court of New Jersey to punish a select group of energy companies for a problem that is the result of worldwide conduct stretching back to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.”
“These suits serve only to divert attention and resources away from the collaborative, international efforts that are critical to developing a meaningful solution to climate change,” the spokesperson added.
An Exxon Mobil spokesperson, meanwhile, told The Hill, “Legal proceedings like this waste millions of dollars of taxpayer money and do nothing to advance meaningful actions that reduce the risks of climate change. Exxon Mobil will continue to invest in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting society’s growing demand for energy.”
A ConocoPhillips spokesperson told The Hill the company does not comment on ongoing litigation. The Hill has also reached out to BP and Shell for comment.
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