Latest reports show that Oregon’s most populous county has sued the state’s biggest gas provider for allegedly sowing climate doubt, marking the first time a utility has faced charges of climate deception.
Recall that last year, Multnomah county sued 17 fossil fuel companies and interest groups for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate crisis. The lawsuit came two years after a record-shattering heat dome killed 69 people across the county.
Research shows the climate crisis greatly exacerbated the 2021 temperature surge. Oil and gas companies, which fuel global warming, should pay climate damages, the lawsuit argues.
The county announced on Monday that it has amended its complaint to include the gas utility NW Natural, Oregon’s oldest and largest fossil fuel company.
“NW Natural engaged in an enterprise of misrepresentation about the effects its products would have on the climate,” the amended litigation says.
NW Natural is responsible for some 9% of Oregon’s carbon dioxide emissions, the lawsuit alleges, arguing that it has also disseminated misinformation about the climate dangers of gas.
Read also: China to lead green energy boom
Gas is primarily made of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more planet-heating than carbon dioxide.
The county’s move could open the door for more litigation against utilities, said Alyssa Johl, vice-president of legal and general counsel at the Center for Climate Integrity, which tracks and supports climate deception lawsuits.
“Gas utilities have been significant players in the historic and ongoing deception campaigns to mislead the public about the dangers of fossil fuels,” she said.
Though NW Natural has touted its commitment to a “carbon neutral future”, the company “has not implemented any operational changes that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon”, the lawsuit says. It also accuses the company of “astroturfing” community support for gas.
NW Natural declined to comment, saying it had not yet reviewed the suit.
Last month, a ProPublica investigation found that, despite public claims to be lowering its emissions, NW Natural has made little effort to achieve that goal.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
