File photo / Provided
Eric Howard
Updated: December 9, 2024
Maine joins states suing oil giants over climate change
File Photo / Jim Neuger
During a storm earlier this year, fishing vessel Tara Lynn II ran aground in Cape Elizabeth amid powerful winds and record-breaking tides. The crew was rescued.
Maine recently became the latest state to take big oil companies to court over allegations that the companies knowingly deceived the public about the negative impact of fossil fuels on climate change.
The suit, filed last month by Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey in Cumberland County Superior Court, names Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, Sunoco and the American Petroleum Institute as defendants.
In the 190-page complaint, the state accuses the companies of failing to warn Mainers and concealing their knowledge about the devastating consequences of the increasing use of fossil fuels on Maine’s people, economy and environment.
It goes on to allege that the conduct has resulted in enormous financial burdens, public health impacts, property damage and other harms as a result of extreme weather, sea-level rise and warmer temperatures.
“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” said Frey, who last week secured a second term.
“In so doing, they burdened the state and our citizens with the consequences of their greed and deception," he added.
The state is asking that the court require the defendants to pay for both past and future climate harms, is demanding a jury trial, and seeking relief through damages, penalties, abatement and the forfeiture of profits resulting from illegal conduct.
More than 20 states, tribes, cities and counties have brought similar climate lawsuits to date including New Jersey, California, Delaware, Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. Several of the companies have publicly rebutted the claims, touting various climate-friendly initiatives.
“The Maine Attorney General's lawsuit is a perfect example of how changes can happen at the state level, said Eric Howard, executive director of the Environmental and Energy Technology Council of Maine, a Portland-based nonprofit trade group often referred to as E2Tech.
“Last summer, there was a historic ruling in favor of 16 young activists who filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana for infringing on their constitutional right to a ‘clean and healthful environment,” he told Mainebiz. “That case is the first of its kind in the U.S. holding state officials and agencies responsible for the carbon footprint of future fossil fuel projects and how those emissions may impact the climate. In this case, about two dozen jurisdictions have brought similar climate deception lawsuits to date, including several states in New England.”
Howard noted that while there are too many variables to predict the outcome of the Maine case, “there are plenty of interesting cases that made their way through the legal process that had an impact on many aspects of life in America.
“Consider the plaintiffs over the years on topics such as divorce, abortion, sexual misconduct, tobacco or asbestos,” he said. “This could be another one.”
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