county sues oil companies for $51 billion over extreme heat

A county in Oregon, in the northwest of the United States, announced on Thursday June 22 that it would file a complaint against several multinational oil companies to claim more than 51 billion dollars from them after the “heat dome” of 2021, a extreme and deadly climatic episode.

Multnomah County says carbon pollution caused by the use of fossil fuel generated by these groups played a role “important” in this event. Companies targeted include Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Total Specialties USA.

Damages up to $50 million

The county is seeking $50 million in damages and $1.5 billion for future damage – extreme heat, drought, fires and smoke promising to become more common. It is also asking companies to put $50 billion into an impact “reduction fund” to upgrade the county’s infrastructure.

A record heat wave had slammed the western United States and Canada from late June to mid-July 2021. The resulting death toll was estimated at 1,400 and a temperature of 49.6 degrees Celsius was was recorded in Lytton, British Columbia. In an analysis, the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a group of scientists, claims that this dome would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced climate change, which has made it at least 150 times more likely.

The Multnomah County complaint also names the American Petroleum Institute and the firm McKinsey & Company. With this move, Multnomah County joins dozens of cities, counties and states across the country in filing lawsuits against oil groups accusing them of contributing to climate change and fueling misinformation. These complaints take the example of cases having targeted the big names in tobacco and pharmacy, concerning cigarettes and opiates.