If only there was something they could do themselves
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, leading a multistate coalition, today filed an amicus brief supporting the city of Oakland and the city and county of San Francisco in their lawsuit, City of Oakland and City and County of San Francisco. v. BP, et al. The suit seeks to hold petroleum and coal companies accountable for actions contributing to climate change and the resulting harms from sea-level rise and other effects.
“Our states and local governments protect the welfare of our residents by holding accountable those who harm our communities,†said Attorney General Becerra. “Companies that reap the benefits of fossil fuels intensify the effects of global warming. We ask the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow our local governments to stand up for Americans who suffer the costs of climate change.†(snip)
In September 2017, the City of Oakland brought its lawsuit against BP, et al, in Alameda County Superior Court. The same day, San Francisco city and county brought their lawsuit against the oil companies in San Francisco County Superior Court. In October, the oil companies successfully transferred the cases from state court to federal court. In February 2018, the federal district court ruled against the localities requests to have their cases heard in state court. In June, the federal court dismissed both cases. In August, the localities appealed in the Ninth Circuit, and the two cases were combined. In the amicus brief supporting the localities, the Attorneys General assert that the federal district court’s decisions not to send the cases back to state court and the dismissals should be reversed. (snip)
Joining Attorney General Becerra in filing the brief are the Attorneys General of Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
A good question was raised
https://twitter.com/nerdynel17/status/1108704585462530053
If fossil fuels are so bad, why do all these ‘climate change’ believing cities, counties, and states keep building and maintaining roads? Fossil fueled machines are used to build and maintain roads that fossil fueled vehicles drive on. Perhaps folks like AG’s James and Becerra should sue to stop all construction. Immediate action!
Of course, this is all really about the money and power. They were upset that the jurisdictions weren’t able to sue fossil fuels companies in a shakedown attempt.
