by Greenpeace USA
June 11, 2024
Washington, DC (June 6, 2024)—In response to one of the latest moves by the fossil fuel industry to skirt accountability for climate impacts – an unprecedented pressure campaign by industry allies to convince the Supreme Court to dismiss dozens of climate liability cases – Tefere Gebre, Chief Program Officer of Greenpeace USA, said: “The country should take notice of the escalating tactics being used by the fossil fuel industry to influence and misuse the U.S. legal system. Yesterday, the Supreme Court met to consider the oil industry’s latest request to dismiss lawsuits filed by U.S. cities, such as the high-profile case City of Honolulu vs Sunoco LP, that demand oil companies pay up for damages.”
“The Honolulu case was filed in 2020 against several Big Oil companies alleging that their actions led to “a substantial portion of the climate crisis-related impacts in the City.”The Lahaina wildfires in 2023, the most deadly in modern American history, underscore the need for this lawsuit to move forward. In telling the full story of climate liability lawsuits like Honolulu, it is also important to note the irony of big oil companies begging for dozens of legal cases to be dismissed even as that same industry escalates lawsuits against environmental organizations and activists. Sunoco LP is the first listed defendant in the Honolulu case, in which many fossil fuel-aligned stakeholders are trying to persuade courts to let oil companies off the hook for billions of dollars. Meanwhile, its parent company Energy Transfer – which acquired Sunoco in 2012 – is suing Greenpeace for $300 million in a case that threatens to obliterate Greenpeace in the U.S. while curbing the right to peaceful protest and free speech.”
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Contact: Lindsay Bigda, Greenpeace USA Communications Director, P: 207-385-7924, E: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org
By Greenpeace USA
Greenpeace is a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
Visit Greenpeace Fund, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) charitable entity created to increase public awareness and understanding of environmental issues through research, the media and educational programs.
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