New York City was dismissed on July 19, 2018 in its legal action against five oil industry giants for their alleged role in climate change, initiated in early January 2018. New York was not asking for a specific amount but the mayor , Bill de Blasio, had indicated that the damages possibly allocated by justice would contribute to the financing of the measures taken by the city to fight against the consequences of climate change.
For oil companies, the action had no legal basis
In his order, Federal Judge John Keenan justified his decision by finding that there was no legal basis for this type of action, referring to the case law cited by the oil companies, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell.
“Climate change is a fact, which the defendants do not dispute”, wrote the magistrate in the judgment consulted by AFP. “But it is not for the courts to deal with the serious problems it causes. Lhe global warming and the solutions to be brought to it must be dealt with by the other two powers of the State “legislative and executive, he added.
The decision to settle investments in fossil fuels suspended from the conclusions of an impact study
By announcing his legal action in early January 2018, the mayor of New York indicated his intention to pay off all of the city’s investments in fossil fuels, or around five billion dollars. The municipality has already launched a $ 20 billion investment program to meet the new challenge facing the coastal city.
However, the final decision not to keep any stake in companies active in fossil fuels will nevertheless depend on the conclusions of an impact study and a legal analysis, which have not been made public to date.
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