Exxon, Shell, BP, and others, county leaders argued in their complaint, knew that their "Fossil fuel products" caused "Catastrophic harm" but told the public otherwise, thus making those companies liable for a heat wave that struck the Beaver State in 2021.
The county's complaint made reference to "The world's largest oil companies" and laid out their "International operations," through which the companies produce millions of barrels of oil per day.
Left-wing media coverage of the suit also emphasized the defendants' global reach: The Guardian said the suit targeted "Major oil and gas companies," while Mother Jones touted the county's work to take on "Big Oil." One defendant included in the county's complaint was not mentioned in those stories.
Multnomah County's suit nonetheless lumps Space Age together with the oil industry's global leaders, a move that attorneys say isn't truly aimed at collecting damages from the local company.
The companies then withheld that research from the public and pushed a "Well-funded, sustained public relations campaign" that portrayed oil and gas as "Harmless to the environment," according to the county.
As a result, the county says, the companies conspired to "Deceive the public about the science connecting global climate change to fossil fuel products," thus placing them on the hook for "Widespread and catastrophic" environmental harm.
"Space Age is an independent marketer and seller of fuel products." The distinctions between Space Age and other companies included in Multnomah County's complaint, the oil companies argue, show that Space Age was improperly included in the suit and should be disregarded.
No comments:
Post a Comment