Faced with staggering costs from floods, storms, and other extreme weather made worse by climate change, the city of Hoboken, New Jersey, today filed a lawsuit in state court against ExxonMobil and other major oil and gas companies for defrauding the public about the harms they knew their products would cause to the climate.
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said at a press conference that the city’s lawsuit “seeks to hold these Big Oil companies accountable and help pay for current and future costs in Hoboken associated with climate change adaptation.”
“At the same time Hoboken has been ravaged by major climate events like Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene and regular heavier rains, Big Oil companies have been profiting to the tune of billions of dollars at the expense of the health and safety of the public,” Bhalla said. “It’s time these companies pay their fair share and be held accountable.”
With today’s lawsuit, Hoboken becomes the 20th city, county, or state to take the fossil fuel industry to court over climate change damages since 2017.
It is also the first lawsuit in New Jersey, where ExxonMobil is incorporated, and state lawmakers are currently pushing a resolution calling on state officials to “pursue legal action against fossil fuel companies for damages caused by climate change.”
Thanks to Hoboken, for the first time, Exxon will have to defend its shameful record of climate damage, disinformation, and denial on its home turf. It takes guts to sue the most ruthless, deceitful, and unapologetic climate polluters on the planet, and Hoboken’s elected leaders should be applauded.
From extreme storms like Sandy to rising seas and historic floods, New Jersey is a prime example of the climate destruction Big Oil knowingly caused. State officials looking for ways to make New Jersey more resilient would be wise to follow Hoboken’s lead and hold the companies who caused this crisis accountable for the costs.