New York sues oil giants for climate “deception” – Telemundo New York (47)

The city of New York denounced this Thursday, coinciding with Earth Day, the oil companies Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP (part of the world’s “Big Oil”), and the US employer, American Petroleum Institute, for violating their local regulation through “false advertising” and “deceptive” practices, which he called “greenwashing”.

The lawsuit, filed in the New York State Supreme Court, comes three weeks after a federal appeals court dismissed a case brought in 2018 by the Big Apple administration to hold Big Oil accountable for the cost of warming. global by the emission of greenhouse gases.

The New York mayor, Democrat Bill de Blasio, said in a statement that he will do what is in his “power” to “stop climate change”: “That means taking on some of the most polluting corporations for false advertising and” greenwashing. ” , in direct violation of our Consumer Protection Laws, “he explained.

“My message for Earth Day for ‘Big Oil’: see you in court,” he added.

New York City’s top legal counsel, James Johnson, noted that these companies and employers “have spent millions to persuade consumers to present a clean, green option,” that they are making investments to “protect the environment.” and that they try to “reduce the consumption of fossil fuels”, but he ruled out that this is the case.

In the lawsuit, the local Administration argues that the promotions of the accused entities position their products as “beneficial to tackle climate change”, but are “false and misleading because they do not disclose the disastrous impacts associated with the use” of fossil fuels.

“Through their aggressive and multiple greenwashing campaigns targeting NYC consumers, the defendants have misrepresented themselves, and the oil and gas industry, as corporate leaders in the fight against global warming, with which they can sell more products “if they are perceived to be” environmentally responsible “.

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, in his daily press conference, said that the fossil fuel industry has “brainwashed” society for decades and advocated moving away from these energies, opting for cleaner ones such as geothermal , hydrogen or solar, among others.

– .