Oil giants, including Chevron Corp. and BP Plc, are liable under long-standing California law for damages from fossil fuel-induced climate change, San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., told a federal appeals court.
The cities’ opening brief seeks to revive their lawsuit against five of the world’s largest investor-owned oil and gas companies. The would-be class action argues that oil companies forced society to damage the environment and should carry the financial burden of fixing it.
“Defendants have known for decades that the continued burning of fossil fuels would increase global temperatures and cause devastating impacts on coastal communities ...