The county says carbon pollution from the use of fossil fuels generated by these groups played a “significant” role in the 2021 event.
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A county in Oregon in the northwestern part of the United States announced on Thursday, June 22, to file a complaint against several multinational oil companies to demand more than 51 billion dollars from them after the “heat dome” in 2021, an extreme and deadly climatic episode.
Multnomah County says carbon pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels generated by these groups played a role “important” in this event. The 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 damages — extreme heat, drought, fires and smoke promise to become more common. It also asks companies to put $50 billion into a “reduction fund” to upgrade the county’s infrastructure.
A record heat wave had hit 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 recorded in Lytton, British Columbia. In an analysis, the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a group of researchers, 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 the move, Multnomah County joins dozens of cities, counties and states across the country in filing lawsuits against oil groups that accuse them of contributing to climate change and fueling misinformation. These complaints take the example of cases that were aimed at the big names in tobacco and pharmacy, regarding cigarettes and opiates.
