Bucks County sues Big Oil companies for severe weather blamed on climate change

Bucks County on Monday filed a lawsuit against major oil companies alleging that they have deceived the public for decades about fossil fuel’s role in climate change — causing “catastrophic impacts” for the county from severe weather.

The 172-page complaint, filed in Common Pleas Court, is the first such legal action for a county or local government in Pennsylvania. And it follows similar suits filed by New Jersey and other states and local governments.

The lawsuit points to recent extreme weather and flooding in Bucks County, including “approximately 7 inches of rainfall in just 45 minutes” last July. At least seven people died as a result of the flooding.

» READ MORE: A Bucks County town reels from a flood tragedy and worries about what might happen next

“Since at least the 1950s, [oil company] scientists have consistently concluded that fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution that can have catastrophic consequences for the planet and its people,” according to the lawsuit.

”The industry took these internal scientific findings seriously, investing heavily to protect its own assets and infrastructure from rising seas, stronger storms, and other climate change impacts,” the lawsuit says.

The companies engaged in a “successful climate deception campaign” to protect and promote fossil fuels, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions, accelerated global warming, and “devastating climate change impacts” for the county, according to the lawsuit.

Bucks County, the lawsuit states, “has and will continue to incur substantial costs responding to weather events caused by climate change and destabilization and taking measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change.”

The defendants listed in the complaint include ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, Philips 66, and the trade group American Petroleum Institute.

In an emailed statement, ExxonMobil said the lawsuit’s “claims are meritless and do nothing to address climate change; instead, they distract from the work we’re doing to lower emissions around the world.”

Shell said in a statement: “We agree that action is needed now on climate change, and we fully support the need for society to transition to a lower-carbon future. As we supply vital energy the world needs today, we continue to reduce our emissions and help customers reduce theirs.”

Shell added: “Addressing climate change requires a collaborative, society-wide approach. We do not believe the courtroom is the right venue to address climate change, but that smart policy from government and action from all sectors is the appropriate way to reach solutions and drive progress.”

Ryan Meyers, senior vice president and general counsel for the American Petroleum Institute, said in an email: “This ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers is nothing more than a distraction from important national conversations and an enormous waste of taxpayer resources. Climate policy is for Congress to debate and decide, not a patchwork of counties and courts.”

The Center for Climate Integrity, a nonprofit advocacy organization that tracks such lawsuits, said that the attorneys general in eight states, including New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, as well as dozens of municipal governments are pursuing similar legal claims.

Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, said in a statement: “By taking Big Oil companies to court for their climate lies, Bucks County joins a growing wave of communities that are demanding accountability and taking action to make polluters pay for a crisis these companies knowingly fueled and lied about for decades.”

Wiles added: “More than one in four people in the U.S. now live in a community suing major fossil fuel companies to make them pay for their climate deception. Bucks County is the first Pennsylvania government to file a climate accountability lawsuit against Big Oil companies, but it likely won’t be the last.”

Bucks County Commissioner Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia said the lawsuit “is our tool to recoup costs and fund public works projects like bolstering or replacing bridges, retrofitting county-owned buildings and commencing stormwater management projects,” all to help the county better prepare for severe weather in the future.

The county is represented by the law firm of DiCello Levitt.