In a landmark move, the City of Chicago has launched a legal battle with five of the world's largest oil corporations. The city is demanding a whopping sum of billions of dollars in damages, alleging that these oil giants including the likes of Exxon Mobil and BP are responsible for dire environmental impacts. The lawsuit accuses the companies of causing catastrophic environmental damage, contributing to climate change, and jeopardizing the health and safety of Chicagoans.
1. The City of Chicago has started a legal battle with five of the world's largest oil corporations, demanding billions of dollars in damages.
2. The lawsuit accuses the oil corporations, including Exxon Mobil and BP, of causing environmental damage, contributing to climate change, and putting the health and safety of Chicagoans at risk.
3. The companies named in the lawsuit are BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell, with the lawsuit filed in a state court.
4. The City of Chicago maintains that these corporations have significantly contributed to climate change due to their large-scale carbon dioxide emissions, causing detrimental environmental changes, including rising sea levels and increased temperatures.
5. The authorities claim that the city has had to invest heavily in infrastructure repair and climate change mitigation, such as flood defenses and emergency services, due to the environmental damage caused, and the lawsuit seeks repayment for these public expenditures.
In 2019, fossil fuels produced by these five companies -- BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and ConocoPhillips -- contributed to over 14% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
The lawsuit, which was filed in a state court, named BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell as the defendants. Arguments were built upon a complex chain of causality. According to the City of Chicago, these multinational corporations have contributed significantly to climate change due to their large-scale carbon dioxide emissions. Evidently, the greenhouse gas emissions have led to severe and irreparable environmental changes, including rising sea levels and increased temperatures. As a result, the authorities claimed that the city had to invest massively in infrastructure repair and climate change mitigation, including flood defenses and increased expenditures on emergency services. Therefore, the lawsuit seeks repayment for these public expenditures.