– New York Mayor Sues Oil Companies Over Bad Weather:
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is suing five major oil companies for causing bad weather in the hope of defraying part of the cost of much needed and overdue infrastructure work to protect against severe weather.
The City of New York has reportedly filed a federal claim seeking damages from BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell to help pay for a $20 billion plan to protect the city from the effects of global warming.
Although de Blasio’s lawyers have not yet revealed their legal strategy for the lawsuit, they will have to show a connection between the actions of the oil firms and real material damages. Since a suit cannot be brought over hypothetical future damages based on climate prophecies, the legal team will be obliged to link the behavior of oil companies to real events — such as Hurricane Sandy.
According to Politico, the de Blasio administration is suing for “reparations” from Sandy damages, and seeks to “force the companies to pay for the city’s resiliency efforts, which have taken years to complete since 2012, when the storm devastated the city, killing 53 people across the state costing more than $19 billion.”
H/t reader kevin a.
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