New Jersey is taking on the fossil-fuel industry, suing five oil and gas companies along with their trade group alleging they knowingly deceived the public about the role of fossil fuels in climate change. The announcement Tuesday from the state attorney general and Department of Environmental Protection accuses the companies of being aware for decades that the use of fossil fuels is a major cause of climate change. It is now causing New Jersey to experience rising sea levels, hotter temperatures and increasingly intense storms.
But according to the lawsuit, the industry instead launched a public relations campaign to sow doubt and confuse the public about the causes and existence of climate change —in order to increase profits. New Jersey is now part of nearly two dozen similar climate lawsuits by other cities, states and counties. And it comes as New Jersey is still rebuilding vulnerable communities from major storms.
