In most recent news, New York City has sued three major oil companies, ExxonMobil
New York City stated that, in state court in Manhattan this past Thursday, these oil companies had "systematically and intentionally deceived" New Yorkers regarding the way that fossil fuels behave in climate change. The ultimate objective in the lawsuit is to "attract new customers to their fossil fuel products and prevent the mass defection of existing consumers to cleaner alternatives that contribute substantially less to climate change."
The city is also striving to come up with an order that would prevent companies from going against consumer protection laws and civil penalties. This particular lawsuit is focused particularly on deceptive advertising and trade practices. In response to the lawsuit, Paul Alfonso, API's chief legal officer, stated that it has "no validity," according to Bloomberg.
In response to a significant loss in the 2nd Circuit, New York City is now attempting to litigate other meritless issues with this lawsuit," stated Alfonso, Bloomberg reports. He also stated that, for the past two decades, it has been proven that dependable American energy has been supplied to United States consumers, and that the emissions and carbon footprints have still been decreasing. "Any suggestion to the contrary is false," he added.
The spokesperson for Shell, Anna Arata, shared similar viewpoints on the lawsuit to Bloomberg, saying that the issue of climate change "requires smart policy from government supported by inclusive action from all business sectors, including ours" and that Shell would "play a leading, transparent, and collaborative role" in the situation. Although it is unclear as to whether the three major oil companies had "intentionally deceived" consumers.
The companies continue to defend their positions that they are truly not guilty of any kind of intentional deception, but New York City insists that it is, which leaves the situation up in the air as to how it will be resolved.
