Maine Sues Big Oil for Climate Deception

The State of Maine today sued ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, Sunoco, and the American Petroleum Institute to make them pay for lying to the public for decades about their fossil fuel products’ central role in the climate crisis, joining a growing number of climate accountability lawsuits against Big Oil across the United States.

Maine is now the 9th U.S. state, and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey becomes the 11th attorney general (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), to take Big Oil companies to court for their climate deception.

Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:

“Big Oil companies have lied for decades about the catastrophic harm they knew their products would cause, and now Maine has joined a growing wave of communities across the U.S. that are demanding accountability. These polluters continue to fuel the climate crisis and lie about it to protect their profits. It’s only right that Big Oil companies pay their fair share of the damage their deception has caused. With Maine’s lawsuit, the demands that Big Oil faces accountability for decades of climate lies are growing louder and more powerful.”

Background on U.S. Climate Accountability Lawsuits Against Big Oil:

Eleven attorneys general — in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico — and dozens of municipal and tribal governments in California, Colorado, Hawai`i, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Puerto Rico, have filed lawsuits to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change. These cases collectively represent more than 1 in 4 people living in the United States.

Earlier this year, the attorney general of Michigan announced plans to take fossil fuel companies to court.