By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A judge has dismissed New York City’s lawsuit seeking to hold Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell liable for misleading the public about their products, and their commitment to renewable energy and fighting climate change.
In a decision on Tuesday, state Supreme Court Justice Anar Patel said the city could not claim its climate-conscious residents were sensitive to how fossil fuels cause climate change, only to then be duped by the oil companies’ failure to disclose how their fossil fuel products contributed to it.
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“The city cannot have it both ways,” Patel wrote.
Patel found no proof the oil companies and the defendant American Petroleum Institute conducted “greenwashing” campaigns, including statements about clean energy and alternative energy, to boost sales of fossil fuel products in the city.
She also said general statements such as Exxon’s claim that its fuel helps people drive “cleaner, smarter and longer” were too vague to suggest the defendants’ products had nothing to do with climate change.
With about 8.3 million people, New York City said the companies falsely portrayed themselves in ads and social media as climate change leaders despite minimal investments in clean energy such as wind and solar.
It sought civil fines and an end to alleged deceptions.
Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesperson for the city’s law department, on Wednesday said the city is reviewing its options.
“Our complaint alleged that these defendants spent millions to mislead consumers to think that they, and their products, contribute to a clean energy future,” he said. “They do not. Companies that violate the city’s consumer protection laws should be held fully accountable. New Yorkers deserve no less.”
In a statement, Exxon said: “At some point, our hope is that political figures around the country come to understand that ideological hatred for us doesn’t mean we did anything wrong.”
Shell declined to comment. BP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Many U.S. state and local governments have sued oil companies over climate change, including the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Patel ruled one day after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt the city of Honolulu’s own lawsuit against Exxon, BP, Shell and several other oil companies.
New York City’s lawsuit began in April 2021, three weeks after a federal appeals court rejected its lawsuit seeking to hold Exxon, BP, Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips liable to pay its costs from global warming.
The American Petroleum Institute welcomed the latest decision. “Climate policy is for Congress to debate and decide, not a patchwork of courts,” said Ryan Meyers, the trade group’s general counsel.
The case is City of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corp et al, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 451071/2021.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York. Editing by Franklin Paul and Stephen Coates)
