California sues oil giants, saying they downplayed climate change. Here's what to know
California accuses oil companies of misleading the public on the dangers of fossil fuels for decades. The state demands they help fund recovery efforts after climate change-fueled disasters.
The state of California has filed a sweeping climate lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, as well as the domestic oil industry's biggest lobby, the American Petroleum Institute.
The suit, filed on Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, claims that the companies misled the public for decades about climate change and the dangers of fossil fuels. It demands the companies help fund recovery efforts related to California's extreme weather events, from rising sea levels to drought and wildfires, that have been supercharged by human-caused climate change.
"Oil and gas companies have privately known the truth for decades — that the burning of fossil fuels leads to climate.
