Due to their effects on global warming, California has decided to sue 5 major oil companies. These companies include BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and ConocoPhillips, all for downplaying the effects of their product on climate change. The specific reasons for suing are as follows, “The defendants have created a public nuisance, have damaged natural resources and state property, and have misled Californian citizens with false advertising about the effects on the environment.” These charges were filed by the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, in the San Francisco Superior Court. This is not the first complaint that oil companies have received, as Rhode Island, Baltimore, and Honolulu have all filed similar complaints, but they didn’t have as much of an impact because they have much fewer resources than California.

The state released a 135-page complaint about how the oil companies knew about the damage they were causing to the environment but still chose not to report it. This has led to “damaging wildfires, unclean air, deadly heat waves, and record-breaking droughts, which have all cost the state billions.” The lawsuit claims that the oil companies had been warned by Stanford University in 1968 about the effects of their product on the environment. “Significant temperature changes are almost certain to occur by the year 2000, and there seems no doubt that the potential damage to our environment could be severe.” The prosecutors are claiming that because the oil companies didn’t listen, we are in the current climate struggle. If they are able to find a link between climate change and these companies, then they would be required to pay for a lot of the damages that California residents are paying through taxes.

Most of these companies have previously claimed to be good for the environment, which is best shown by Shell’s homepage which says that it is hoping to release 0 emissions by the year 2050 and that it is helping with climate change.  This could be considered false advertising, as they are continuing to sell their products, which we know aren’t good for the environment. They have also tried repeating these claims after the lawsuit was brought forth, with Shell and Chevron both trying to claim that the lawsuit won’t help climate change. Whether this is true or not, the lawsuit will help pay for the relief of the effects of climate change, if California wins, and it will also help us see if these companies have really deceived us. Overall, this lawsuit is probably going to be very important in the history of the way we think about climate change, and what we think of the type of energy we are using.