The county is looking for greater than $1.5 billion in damages from the defendants, who additionally embody Peabody Power, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum.
“This lawsuit is about accountability and equity, and I imagine the individuals of Multnomah County deserve each,” mentioned Multnomah County chair Jessica Vega Pederson. “These companies knew their merchandise have been unsafe and dangerous, and so they lied about it. They’ve profited massively from their lies and left the remainder of us to endure the implications and pay for the damages. We are saying sufficient is sufficient.”
Why It Issues: Local weather lawsuits are on the rise
That is the newest lawsuit in a rising wave of local weather litigation around the globe.
This week, a landmark case introduced by 16 younger individuals in opposition to the State of Montana concluded. In that swimsuit, the plaintiffs argued that Montana violated their rights below the state structure to a clear and healthful setting by way of its help of the fossil gas trade.
States and cities across the nation have sued fossil gas corporations lately, alleging that they deceived the general public concerning the risks of local weather change, and that excessive climate made worse by their emissions has harmed individuals and property. These instances — together with ones introduced by the attorneys common in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — proceed to wind their approach by way of the courts and the primary might go to trial as early as this yr.
In April, the Supreme Court docket dominated {that a} group of local weather instances introduced by cities and municipalities ought to stay in state court docket, the place they’re anticipated to have a greater probability of successful injury awards, quite than federal court docket, the place fossil gas corporations have been anticipated to have the higher hand.
The Oregon case is among the many first complaints looking for damages associated to a particular climate occasion, and the primary associated to a warmth dome. Final yr, a bunch of 16 municipalities in Puerto Rico sued a bunch of fossil gas corporations over damages from a pair of hurricanes in 2017.
Background: The 2021 warmth dome was lethal
Within the final days of June 2021, searing warmth enveloped the Pacific Northwest.
In Seattle, well-known for its wet winters and comparatively cool summers, temperatures reached a report 108 levels Fahrenheit. On the Portland Worldwide Airport, the thermostat hit 115 levels.
In Multnomah County, the implications have been extreme. Temperatures reached a excessive of 116 levels Fahrenheit, shattering information and resulting in the deaths of 69 individuals and in depth property injury.
