Tell Your State Attorney General: Make Polluters Pay

It's time to sue Big Oil.

Big Oil has known for decades that burning fossil fuels was wrecking our climate. But after deciding that a transition to clean energy would be bad for business, climate polluters deliberately sowed doubt to undermine scientific truths.

Then as the science became overwhelming and public understanding of climate change grew, companies shifted from denying climate science to portraying themselves as part of the solution.

They Knew. They Lied. They’re Still Lying.

Now, we’re left to deal with the increasingly devastating impacts of the climate emergency: impacts that could cost the nation trillions of dollars over the coming years.

We want polluters to pay their fair share of dealing with the crisis they helped create.

We need all states at the table holding Big Oil accountable. We're stronger when we're united. But to be victorious, the Attorney General in every state need to see that they have the people on their side. They need the pressure – and support – to take Big Oil down.

Send a personalized email to your state attorney general – tell them it’s time to Make Polluters Pay and it's time to sue Big Oil.

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PERSONALIZE YOUR MESSAGE

Your letter is more effective when it's been personalized by you. Feel free to write about why you want your Attorney General to sue Big Oil.

{contact_data~salutation}

As {user_data~State} Attorney General, I urge you to hold climate polluters accountable and join California in suing Big Oil. Climate change isn’t just a tragedy, it’s a crime. Big Oil knew. Big Oil lied. And I’m urging you to make polluters pay for the damage they caused.

Big Oil has known for DECADES their pollution was harming human health and leading to catastrophic climate change. Instead of warning the public, they spent billions on disinformation to spread climate denial and block any attempts to address the crisis.

Now, our communities are paying the price. Our neighbors are losing their homes and lives to fires, floods, and extreme heat. Cities and states are spending billions to respond to non stop climate disasters and extreme weather events. Climate costs for everyday people keep going up. We can no longer afford to insure our homes. We are without a safety net. When disasters strike, we lose everything — and the extreme weather just keeps coming. The U.S. has already set a record for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2023, and four months of the year are still remaining. Climate damages cost the U.S. $180 billion in 2022. Over the last five years, California has faced between $50-100 billion in damages for extreme weather events.

By failing to warn the public and purposely fighting action that could have limited the damage, the oil industry committed a crime. The public is now paying the price for that greed and deception. It’s time to make polluters pay for the damage they’ve done.

California’s lawsuit against fossil fuel companies is about fairness and accountability. The lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and the American Petroleum Institute seeks to create an abatement fund that would help communities recover from climate disasters. These funds could also be used to help boost communities’ climate-readiness. And just like Big Tobacco, Big Oil needs to pay for the damages they caused.  As communities across the nation and the world face ongoing economic hardship from climate disasters, lawsuits to make polluters pay can help communities recover and build the resilience they need to survive the coming decades. By forcing Big Oil into the courtroom to account for their crimes, we can help fund climate resilience in our communities.

There’s now a growing global effort to use our legal process to hold Big Oil accountable for their climate disinformation and the damage they’re doing. California joins more than forty states and municipalities pursuing climate liability lawsuits that seek to hold major polluters accountable for lying to the public about their role in causing climate change.

Together, we can build a global movement that supports these lawsuits and other mechanisms to hold Big Oil accountable. These lawsuits aren’t a solution to the climate crisis – we need governments to do their part – but they’re a powerful tool for us to finally hold this industry accountable.

Thank you,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State}

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