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It would come as not shock to any CleanTechnica reader that Huge Oil — a catchall phrase that features methane producers — is lobbying the US Congress to defend it from legal responsibility for destroying the surroundings. In an electronic mail to CleanTechnica, Mike Meno of the Middle For Local weather Integrity wrote, “Barely per week after a coalition of nonprofit teams known as on Congressional Democrats to oppose efforts aimed toward shielding the fossil gas business from authorized legal responsibility, the Wall Road Journal is reporting immediately that oil and fuel corporations are actively lobbying for such protections in Congress. Huge Oil CEOs instantly raised considerations concerning the rising variety of authorized and legislative efforts towards their corporations with President Trump throughout a White Home assembly on Wednesday, the Journal studies.”

Uh, oh. Dangle onto your hats, folks. The fossil gas business is begging to be let off the hook for his or her a long time of mendacity and dishonest. It labored for the gun business and now it could work for the fossil gas business, too. For those who assume it’s hypocritical to decry Huge Authorities on one hand after which go sucking as much as the federal government for absolution out of your sins, congratulations, you are paying consideration.

In a March 13 letter to Senate Democratic Chief Chuck Schumer and Home Democratic Chief Hakeem Jeffries, 195 teams together with Public Citizen, Earthjustice, Dawn Motion, and the American Affiliation of Justice pointed to previous efforts from the fossil gas business to safe a legal responsibility waiver from Congress, in addition to statements from President Trump, as motive to anticipate a brand new push to immunize polluters. Right here is the complete textual content of the letter:

Re: No Immunity for the Fossil Gas Business

Pricey Chief Schumer and Chief Jeffries,

As we witness the brand new Trump administration work alongside highly effective company pursuits to systemically assault environmental protections, the rule of regulation, and bedrock democratic ideas, we write to induce Democratic members of the Home and Senate to proactively and affirmatively reject any proposal that may defend fossil gas corporations from the rising variety of authorized and legislative efforts to carry them accountable for his or her position within the local weather disaster.

Communities throughout the US — from Los Angeles to Asheville, North Carolina — are struggling to guard residents and infrastructure from excessive climate occasions which might be turning into extra lethal and damaging because of air pollution from fossil fuels. The largest oil and fuel corporations that produce, market, and promote these fossil fuels have identified for many years that their merchandise posed a “doubtlessly catastrophic” threat to the local weather, however as a joint Home-Senate committee investigation final yr concluded, they’ve engaged in an extended working and ongoing marketing campaign to deceive the general public, defend their earnings, and delay our transition to cleaner and safer vitality.

Now 1 in 4 folks in the US reside in a state or native authorities that’s taking ExxonMobil and different main fossil gas corporations to court docket to carry them accountable for this deception and make them pay for the injury their local weather lies have brought on. Individually, a rising variety of state legislatures are contemplating so-called local weather superfund legal guidelines, which might pressure the largest privately owned local weather polluters to assist pay for the rising prices to guard public infrastructure from climate-fueled damages.

The fossil gas business has fiercely attacked these lawsuits and legislative efforts in court docket, however so far has not succeeded in its efforts to flee accountability. President Trump has vowed to quash lawsuits towards the fossil gas business, and at the very least twice in current historical past — as soon as in 2017 and once more in 2020, throughout the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic — there have been documented efforts by oil corporations and their allies to safe a blanket waiver of legal responsibility for his or her business. In response to the latter effort, 60 Democratic Home members urged management to categorically oppose efforts to “immunize polluters. Shielding the carbon polluters from authorized accountability doesn’t belong on our agenda,” they wrote then. That principled solidarity is much more vital and pressing now.

Now we have motive to consider that the fossil gas business and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the brand new Trump administration to try but once more to go some type of legal responsibility waiver and defend themselves from dealing with penalties for his or her a long time of air pollution and deception. That effort — it doesn’t matter what type it takes — should not be allowed to succeed. Our communities throughout the nation are struggling grave threats to our public well being, security, and financial safety because of Huge Oil’s local weather deception and air pollution. Governments, residents, companies, and others will need to have entry to authorized and legislative treatments with a view to maintain fossil gas corporations accountable, search justice, and make polluters pay.

We all know there are lots of vital fights for justice and accountability which might be going down now and that may happen within the months and years that comply with. However we, the undersigned organizations, respectfully urge you within the strongest attainable phrases to attract a line within the sand now — earlier than fossil gas business allies reveal their particular plans — and unite your caucuses in agency opposition to any Congressional efforts to bail out local weather polluters from dealing with authorized and legislative penalties for his or her central position within the local weather disaster.

Thanks for standing on the aspect of justice and accountability.

Local weather activists have been fast to assist the letter and its authors. “Democrats have to be on guard in order that Huge Oil’s congressional allies can’t sneak immunity right into a invoice with out it assembly fierce and vocal resistance,” mentioned Aaron Regunberg, director of Public Citizen’s local weather accountability undertaking. “No business needs to be above the regulation — particularly one whose legal actions have fueled the best menace to human security in historical past.” Richard Wiles, president of the Middle for Local weather Integrity, added, “Huge Oil corporations know they face large legal responsibility, and we all know they’ll do all the things they will to keep away from dealing with the proof of their local weather deception in court docket. Now that the Supreme Courtroom has repeatedly refused to bail out Huge Oil, and lawsuits towards the businesses are getting nearer to trial, members of Congress should not give the fossil gas business a ‘get out of jail free card’ for its fraudulent and damaging conduct.”

Cassidy DiPaola, the communications director for Make Polluters Pay, targeted on the parallels between what Huge Oil is attempting to do and what the gun foyer did way back. “The gun business wrote this playbook years in the past, and we’ve witnessed the tragic penalties when firms safe authorized shields from accountability. What’s at stake right here isn’t simply who pays for local weather disasters — it’s whether or not our democracy permits highly effective industries to easily rewrite the foundations when justice catches as much as them. The fossil gas business spent a long time burying local weather science whereas their merchandise fueled the disaster. Now that the invoice is coming due, they need taxpayers to cowl their tab. Lawmakers should decisively reject any try by the fossil gas business to evade accountability and guarantee each justice immediately and the appropriate of future generations to carry polluters answerable for a long time of deception.”

“For many years, the fossil gas business has identified the well being and local weather harms of its actions. As a substitute of addressing them, they’ve tried all the things to insulate themselves from the catastrophes they trigger,” mentioned Earthjustice Motion Vice President of Coverage and Laws Raúl García. “That’s not how equity works, and it’s not how the regulation works. Similar to anybody else, they have to be held accountable for the harms they perpetrate on folks and communities. The very last thing they deserve is a legal responsibility defend, and we urge Congress to oppose and block any effort to assist these corporations evade accountability for his or her actions.”

That is extra “heads we win, tails you lose” drivel from the fossil gas business. In case you are not sickened and disgusted by this effort to get Congress to offer oil and fuel corporations a Get Out Of Jail Free card, you would possibly wish to verify to see you probably have an precise conscience or sense of morality. We noticed this coming from a Republican Occasion that has cravenly caved to each cockamamie thought put forth by the so-called president and the creators of the Challenge 2025 playbook. So, what are you able to do? As people, we will name, write, and textual content our elected officers. It isn’t more likely to do a lot good, but it surely’s a begin.

The actual energy we’ve is to wean ourselves off our dependence on fossil fuels. We are able to exchange warmth and air con programs and water heaters with warmth pumps, we will add photo voltaic panels to our houses, drive an electrical automotive, make our houses extra vitality environment friendly, and develop our personal vegatables and fruits. You would possibly assume such efforts are too small to make a distinction, but when thousands and thousands of individuals do that, the impact can be felt all the best way from Assington, DC, to the Permian Basin.