Press Releases
October 8, 2024
OREGON — Multnomah County has became the first U.S. municipality to sue a gas utility for deceiving the public about its products’ role in the climate crisis, adding NW Natural as a defendant to a 2023 lawsuit that seeks to hold fossil fuel companies and their enablers accountable for fueling the deadly 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome.
"NW Natural engaged in an enterprise of misrepresentation about the effects its products would have on the climate, and that the use of its products could cause an extreme heat event to occur," the county argues in an amended complaint. The county also added the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine as a defendant.
In June, a federal court ruled that Multnomah County’s lawsuit against Exxon, Chevron, and others could proceed in state court, where it was filed.
Gas utilities, just like their oil-producing counterparts, have known for decades that their products contribute to the growing climate crisis, yet continue to promote and advertise fossil gas as a climate solution. Oregon leaders and environmental advocates have previously called on the Oregon Attorney General’s Office to investigate NW Natural, the regional gas utility, for its misleading claims about its product.
Alyssa Johl, vice president of legal and general counsel of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:
“Gas utilities have been significant players in the historic and ongoing deception campaigns to mislead the public about the dangers of fossil fuels. NW Natural is now the first to be named as a defendant in a climate deception lawsuit brought by a local U.S. government, but it likely won’t be the last.
“Gas utilities have known for decades that their products fuel the climate crisis, yet they continue to deceptively market methane gas as a climate solution. Multnomah County’s lawsuit is an important step toward holding NW Natural accountable for the damage that deception has caused.”
Background on Climate Accountability Lawsuits Against Big Oil:
Ten attorneys general — in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico — and dozens of municipal and tribal governments in California, Colorado, Hawai`i, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Puerto Rico, have filed lawsuits to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change. Earlier this year, the attorney general of Michigan announced plans to take fossil fuel companies to court.