Press Releases
March 10, 2020
Honolulu, HI – The city and county of Honolulu today announced the filing of a state lawsuit against major oil and gas companies – including ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, and Chevron – seeking to make the industry pay for the cost of climate damages that the companies long knew their businesses would create and intensify, including rising sea levels, coastal erosion, flooding, supercharged storms, and other extreme weather events.
Honolulu joins more than a dozen other local governments that have gone to court to make Big Oil pay its fair share of damages caused by fossil fuel products. Maui County has announced plans to file a similar lawsuit.
Richard Wiles, Executive Director for the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:
“Honolulu residents should not be left holding the bill for a crisis that fossil fuel companies created. Taxpayers deserve their day in court.
“Big Oil knew decades ago that its products would cause the climate disasters now imperiling Honolulu. Like all polluters, they should pay their fair share of the billions it will cost to respond to the damage.
“More and more local governments are standing up for their residents and taking Big Oil to court. It’s only a matter of time until this industry, like Big Tobacco and Big Pharma, is held accountable for lying to the public about the harm its products would cause.”
Background: More than a dozen other lawsuits – including from the state of Rhode Island and cities or counties in California, Colorado, Maryland, New York, and Washington State – are currently working their way through the courts that seek to hold fossil-fuel companies financially accountable for their role in creating climate change and then deceiving the public about the impact of their business practices.
The Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission conservatively estimates that the cost of lost land, beaches, roads, infrastructure, and displaced residents from sea-level rise and chronic flooding will be $19 billion by century’s end.
A 2019 report from the Center for Climate Integrity found that coastal and tidal communities in the lower 48 states will have to spend more than $400 billion by 2040 to pay for seawalls needed to protect infrastructure, property, and lives from climate-driven sea-level rise.