Vermont has become the last state to sue some of the country’s leading fossil fuel companies alleging that they misled the public about the impact their products have on climate change.
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont became the last state on Tuesday to sue some of the country’s top fossil fuel companies alleging that they misled the public about the impact their products have on climate change.
The state wants companies to explain to consumers that the use of fossil fuel products harms the environment, Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan said after the lawsuit was filed in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington.
The warnings may be similar to those that point to the danger of tobacco products or food products that include nutritional and caloric information, he said.
Donovan, who spoke outside the Chittenden County Courthouse in downtown Burlington, where the lawsuit was filed, said they are not trying to prevent companies from selling their products to the state and that Vermonters will be able to continue using fuels. fossils.
“What we’re saying is that Vermonters have a right to know,” Donovan said. “Give accurate information to the Vermonters. Put a label on the product and let the Vermonters decide.”
The lawsuit indicates ExxonMobil Corporation, Shell Oil Company, Sunoco LP, CITGO Petroleum Corporation and other corporations.
In an email Tuesday, ExxonMobil spokesman Casey Norton said the lawsuit was unfounded and without merit and they hoped to defend the company in court.
“Legal proceedings like this waste millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money and do nothing to advance significant actions that reduce the risks of climate change, ”he said.
Citgo declined to comment on pending litigation. The other two companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Vermont lawsuit seeks to prevent defendants from participating in what the lawsuit alleges as unjust or misleading acts and practices.
“They have known for decades that the Earth’s climate has changed due to emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases and that the fossil fuels they sell are the main source of these emissions,” the lawsuit said.
Despite this knowledge, companies have continued to sell their products in Vermont without informing consumers of the effect these products have on their environment, according to the procedure.
“They market fossil fuel products to Vermont consumers by announcing that the use of their products is supposedly better for the environment than other products, while remaining silent on ads about the significant contributions their products continue to make to emissions. greenhouse gases and climate change, “the suit said.
A recent report by the UN-designated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said global warming is already accelerating sea level rise and worsening extremes such as heat waves, droughts, floods and storms.
The Vermont lawsuit was filed under the Vermont Consumer Protection Act, alleging that the companies misled the public about their actions, not because of alleged environmental damage.
The Center for Climate Integrity says Vermont is the sixth state to file a lawsuit against major oil and gas companies related to its alleged role in climate change. The District of Columbia has also filed a similar lawsuit.
———
This story has been corrected to show that Vermont is the sixth state to file a similar lawsuit, not the seventh state.