The State of Maine has sued ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, Sunoco and the American Petroleum Institute to make them pay for lying to the public for decades about their fossil fuel products’ central role in the climate crisis.
In doing so Maine joins a growing number of climate accountability lawsuits against Big Oil across the United States.
Maine is now the ninth US state, and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey becomes the 11th attorney general (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), to take Big Oil companies to court for their climate deception.
‘Big Oil companies have lied for decades about the catastrophic harm they knew their products would cause, and now Maine has joined a growing wave of communities across the US that are demanding accountability.
‘These polluters continue to fuel the climate crisis and lie about it to protect their profits. It’s only right that Big Oil companies pay their fair share of the damage their deception has caused. With Maine’s lawsuit, the demands that Big Oil faces accountability for decades of climate lies are growing louder and more powerful.’
RICHARD WILES
President of the Center for Climate Integrity
11 attorneys general — in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico — and dozens of municipal and tribal governments in California, Colorado, Hawai`i, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Puerto Rico, have filed lawsuits to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change.
These cases collectively represent more than one in four people living in the United States.
Earlier this year, the attorney general of Michigan announced plans to take fossil fuel companies to court.
More than a quarter of all Americans live in areas taking fossil fuel companies to court for climate damages or fraud.
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