New York officials call for big oil to be prosecuted for fueling climate disasters

Source: The Guardian

Thu 17 Oct 2024 06.00 EDT


New York state prosecutors could press criminal charges against big oil for its role in fueling hurricanes and other climate disasters, lawyers wrote in a new prosecution memorandum that has been endorsed by elected officials across the state. The 50-page document, published by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen and the progressive prosecutors network Fair and Just Prosecution on Thursday, comes as the US south-east struggles to recover from the deadly hurricanes Helene and Milton, both of which scientists have found were exacerbated by the climate crisis.

It details the havoc wrought on New York by 2021’s Hurricane Ida and 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, and other deadly climate events such as extreme heatwaves across the US this past summer. These disasters are fueled by the climate crisis, which is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels. And a growing body of evidence shows that big oil knew about the climate dangers of its products but promoted them to the public anyway, the authors write. “This conduct was not just amoral,” the memo says. “It was criminal.”

Officials who endorsed the strategy include Brad Hoylman-Sigal, New York senate judiciary committee chair; Antonio Reynoso, Brooklyn borough president, state senator Kristen Gonzalez, state senator; assemblymembers Emily Gallagher and Jessica González-Rojas; and city councilmembers Sandy Nurse and Carmen De La Rosa.

“It is clear that the actions of big oil, major fossil fuel companies and their executives have endangered generations of Americans,” said González in a statement. “Big oil must be held accountable for their actions, and justice must be won for those who’ve suffered the devastating impacts of climate-related disasters.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/17/new-york-big-oil-fueling-climate-disasters