Maui County Filed Lawsuit Against Fossil Fuel Companies In 2020

Maui County filed a lawsuit in 2020 seeking damages from fossil fuel megacorps, stating, "Because of climate change, lush and verdant Maui was facing wildfires of “increased frequency, intensity, and destructive force.” Via The New York Times:

They appeared in a 2020 lawsuit filed by Maui County seeking damages from Exxon, Chevron and other giant oil and gas companies, accusing them of a “coordinated, multifront effort to conceal and deny their own knowledge” that the burning of fossil fuels would heat the planet to dangerous extremes.

Now, after wildfires driven by conditions linked to climate change have devastated the Hawaiian island, the lawsuit carries renewed heft.

The Maui fires “are clear and concrete evidence of something that otherwise might seem and feel abstract” that could “greatly strengthen” Maui’s case, said Naomi Oreskes, professor of the history of science at Harvard who has written about climate change disinformation.

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