Last week, federal authorities and FirstEnergy, the electric utility based in Akron, Ohio, came to an agreement after the company was charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud following revelations of a $60 million bribery scheme in the summer of 2020. As a part of the settlement, FirstEnergy has agreed to pay $230 million and cooperate with investigators after admitting the company used dark money groups to fund the operation.
In the throes of the initial corruption charges last year, the Center for Climate Integrity and Expedition Strategies conducted a poll of more than 1,000 likely voters across the state to gauge public opinion on the scandal, as well as climate accountability.
Support for accountability — both for FirstEnergy bribery scandal and for oil and gas companies who lied about climate change — starts out high in the Buckeye State, with 70% of voters initially supporting litigation, and 62% in favor of repealing HB6, the controversial rate hike at the center of the FirstEnergy scandal.
However, after learning more about the impact of climate change on Ohio communities and the duplicity of oil and gas companies in creating the crisis, 80% of voters support litigation against oil and gas companies to hold them accountable for the impacts of climate change.
Support for suing oil and gas companies is high across the state, with 79% of Northeast Ohioans, 83% of Northwest Ohioans, 73% of Southeast Ohioans, 77% of Southwest Ohioans, and 80% of voters in central Ohio supporting climate litigation after hearing messages in favor of climate accountability. Similarly, support is high across demographic breakdowns, with 90% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 70% of Republicans supporting climate litigation after hearing these same arguments in favor of holding oil and gas companies accountable through litigation.
The numbers across the state demonstrate that Ohioans are ready for accountability for oil and gas companies. Taxpayers in the Buckeye State should not be stuck with the bill for billions of dollars in damage, and they know it.