New York prosecutors urged to file criminal charges against Big Oil

Big fossil fuel companies and their executives could face criminal prosecution under New York law for their role in fueling hurricanes and other climate disasters, according to a new report.

In a memo published by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, a group of "progressive" prosecutors and lawyers lay out the case for filing charges of reckless endangerment against Exxon-Mobil, Shell and other big petroleum companies whose products have generated a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are contributing to a warmer planet.

Internal documents show that fossil fuel companies have long known that their products would cause major damage, similar to the legal arguments made against big tobacco executives in the 1990s, the report's authors wrote, saying New York case law would permit such legal challenges.

"Big Oil’s conduct was not just immoral. It was criminal," said Aaron Regunberg, senior policy counsel with Public Citizen’s Climate Program. "Reckless endangerment occurs when someone engages in reckless conduct that risks injuring or killing another person. That’s exactly what these companies and their CEOs have done by knowingly creating the climate crisis that is causing extreme – and extremely dangerous – weather events."

The effort is backed by some Democrats in the state Legislature, who point out that New York has experienced many such disasters, including Hurricane Ida in 2021, which killed more than a dozen people and damaged tens of thousands of buildings.

"It is clear that the actions of Big Oil, major fossil fuel companies, and their executives have endangered generations of Americans," state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, D-Long Island City, said in a statement. "Big Oil must be held accountable for their actions, and justice must be won for those who’ve suffered the devastating impacts of climate-related disasters."

Last year, Public Citizen outlined similar arguments for punishing fossil fuel companies’ over their alleged role in climate pollution but suggesting that the companies could be charged with second-degree murder, or reckless manslaughter, for "deceiving the public about the dangers of those emissions."

Nationwide, dozens of states and local governments have filed lawsuits alleging that fossil fuel companies deceived the public about how their products contribute to climate change.

The legal challenges, including those from New York, are collectively seeking billions of dollars of damage from such things as severe storms, wildfires and rising sea levels.

Republican attorneys general in 19 states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block several Democratic-led climate change lawsuits against the oil and gas industry that have been filed in state courts.

In Congress, Democrats have pushed for federal prosecution of oil companies for alleged price fixing and big oil's alleged role in covering up the climate crisis they argue is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

Those efforts have been blocked in the House where Republicans have argued that the move will drive up energy costs and do little to blunt the impact of climate change.

In a recent statement on the legal challenges, the American Petroleum Institute described lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry as “meritless” and a “waste of taxpayer resources."

“The record of the past two decades demonstrates that the industry has achieved its goal of providing affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint,” the industry group said.