(Reuters) – ExxonMobil Corp, Shell Pvt.
The lawsuit against BP and ConcoPhillips alleges the energy giants’ actions caused tens of billions of dollars in damages and misled the public, the report said, citing a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in San Francisco.
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, is also a defendant in the lawsuit, according to the report, which says California wants to create a contingency fund to pay for future damages from climate-related disasters in the state.
The legal action follows dozens of lawsuits filed by states and municipalities across the United States in recent years related to the fossil fuel industry, including climate damage.
The American Petroleum Institute and oil companies responded to those lawsuits by saying policies to address climate change should come from the federal executive branch and Congress, not based on decisions made in court cases across the US.
California’s Secretary of State Chevron, BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. ExxonMobil could not immediately be reached.
(Reporting by Kanjik Ghosh in Bangalore; Additional reporting by Lavanya Ahire; Editing by Mark Potter)
