News

In response to a Vancouver Sun article titled “Show us the money, communities tell province as B.C. flood strategy delayed to mid-2024”, North Vancouver resident Michelle Sheardown wrote in to the editor about the Sue Big Oil strategy and why it’s needed. (Letter in Vancouver Sun) Read More

Storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts have taken many lives and destroyed swathes of property in recent decades, with global heating making the events more frequent and intense. The study is the first to calculate a global figure for the increased costs directly attributable to human-caused global heating. It found average costs of $140bn a year from 2000 to 2019, although the figure varies significantly from year to year. The latest data shows $280bn in costs in 2022. (Article from The Guardian) Read More

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in recent years against the fossil fuel industry for its role in the climate crisis. But few compare in scope and significance to the case being pursued in California, the world’s fifth-largest economy and a major oil and gas producer. The lawsuit argues some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies deceived the public about the risks of fossil fuels and seeks a compensation fund to pay for future damages caused by climate-related disasters in California. (Article from CBC News) Read More

California has filed a lawsuit against some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, claiming they deceived the public and downplayed the risks posed by fossil fuels. The civil lawsuit also seeks creation of a fund – financed by the companies – to pay for recovery efforts after devastating storms and fires. (Article in The Guardian) Read More

The state of California is suing several of the world’s biggest oil companies, claiming their actions have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and that they deceived the public by downplaying the risks posed by fossil fuels. The civil case seeks creation of an abatement fund to pay for the future damages caused by climate related disasters in the state. (Article in the New York Times) Read More

ExxonMobil executives privately sought to undermine climate science even after the oil and gas giant publicly acknowledged the link between fossil fuel emissions and climate change, according to previously unreported documents subpoenaed by New York’s attorney general as part of an investigation into the company announced in 2015. They add to a slew of documents that record a decades-long misinformation campaign waged by Exxon. The documents could bolster legal efforts to hold oil companies accountable for their alleged attempts to sow doubt about climate science. (Article from The Guardian) Read More

This article explains the history of the province-wide Sue Big Oil campaign, including the activities of our local Sunshine Coast Sue Big Oil team. It’s a great read if you’re wondering why we’re doing what we’re doing, and whether we have a chance at success. (Article from Breach Media) Read More

Six young people from Portugal are taking 32 European countries to court. The case seeks a legally binding decision that would force the governments to act against climate change. One of the applicants’ lawyers believes their chances of success are high as “all the signals so far from the court have been extremely positive”, including its fast-tracking of the case as an urgent and important matter. (Article from EuroNews.com) Read More

Oil and gas companies can afford the billions it will take to clean up their messes and it’s up to governments to force them to do so, a new analysis has found. “We can’t wait for 10 years from now to start charging these companies their cleanup costs because 10 years from now, production will have fallen. Now is when these companies are still making massive, massive, massive profits. And they must be forced to use the profits, to use the revenues, to clean up their mess now.” (Article from National Observer) Read More

Our efforts here on the Sunshine Coast are part of a global phenomenon of individuals and groups taking legal action to slow climate change. Here’s a world map of those cases which have been filed before national courts or quasi-judicial bodies specific to a given country. (Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation: 2023 Snapshot) Read More