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On Thursday, April 22, New York City filed a lawsuit against several major oil companies: BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil.
The American municipality accuses them of “deceiving” consumers by “exaggerating their investments in clean energies”.
In the 97-page complaint, New York City accuses these companies of “amplifying the climate benefits” of products made from hydrogen, natural gas or biofuels.
In addition, the API, the federation of professionals in the sector, is also implicated in this case.
It is accused of “misrepresenting” the various climate impacts linked to fossil fuels.
Chance of the calendar or not, this complaint was filed on the opening day of the virtual climate summit wanted by Joe Biden, the President of the United States.
Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, explained in a statement that the fight against climate change also includes “attacking some of the biggest polluting companies for false advertising and greenwashing”.
Lorelei Salas, who works at the city’s consumer and worker protection department, said: “When oil companies present their products with words like ‘greener’ or ‘cleaner’, while failing to disclose the actual effects of these products, it undermines the ability of consumers to make informed decisions ”.
This complaint is not the first case of this type initiated by the American city.
In January 2018, the municipality had already taken legal action against Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP.
There was talk of their responsibility for climate change, but the complaint was dismissed in early April on appeal.
In 2019, New York City also lost a lawsuit against the oil company ExxonMobil on charges of deception.
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