“The guys who have made the most money ruining the planet are the oil companies. So do I think these companies have to pay? I think they have to pay 90% of the costs.” For fifty years, Larry Collins has made a living from crabbing in the port of San Francisco, California. Due to global warming, its activity is in crisis: the waters have warmed, making fishing impossible before winter and promoting the proliferation of a parasite. Result: the crabs are no longer edible. The loss is estimated at several hundred million euros.
“If I was 20 years old, 30 years old today, and I learned what my future was going to look like, I would be very angry. That I was lied to. That I was robbed. “
Larry Collins, fisherman in San Franciscoto “Further investigation”
“That’s the bottom line: we stole the common good from the next generation”, he sums up. So, with the association of fishermen of the west coast of which he is a member, Larry decided to file a complaint against the companies Exxon, Chevron, Shell and also Total.
>> Climate change: how Total denied the impact of its activities for 50 years
In the United States, this fight is growing: 24 cities, counties and states have also filed a complaint. In Washington, a group of lawyers are helping them collect evidence. At its head, Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), has become in a few years the pet peeve of the kings of oil. According to him, coastal cities like San Francisco or Oakland are founded to claim billions of dollars, “either to prepare for future climate change or because they are already facing the damage.” Not to mention the exorbitant cost of storm damage.
“Is the industry afraid? It should! The entire future of this industry depends on the outcome of these complaints. Because the climate impacts are increasing. (…) So, up to what amount these companies could be held accountable? The answer is: much more than they are worth! “
Carroll Muffett, Washington lawyerto “Further investigation”
Carroll Muffet is convinced: the balance of power with the oil companies is changing. At the end of October 2021, the bosses of Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell, are called to testify before the US Congress. They will have to explain what they knew about climate risk …
Extract from “Climate: will the oil companies have to pay?”, A report to see in “Complément d’inquête”, Thursday, October 21, 2021.
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