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30m ago
20.16 BST
Dharna Noor
A small group of progressive lawmakers led by Vermont
Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday urged the United States to bring lawsuits
against the fossil fuel industry for its alleged efforts to sow doubt about the
climate crisis.
“The
actions of ExxonMobil, Shell, and potentially other fossil fuel companies
represent a clear violation of federal racketeering laws, truth in advertising
laws, consumer protection laws, and potentially other laws, and the Department
must act swiftly to hold them accountable for their unlawful actions,” reads
the letter, which was also signed by Democratic senators Ed Markey and
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
The letter,
addressed to attorney general Merrick Garland, references the well-documented
climate misinformation campaign waged over decades by oil and gas companies,
and the dozens of lawsuits filed by states, municipalities, and the District of
Columbia about that campaign.
The letter
was sent as swaths of the United States bake under sweltering temperatures.
This summer’s record-breaking heatwaves in America and southern Europe, which
have put tens of millions of people under heat advisories, would have been
“virtually impossible” without climate change, according to a recent study by
scientists at World Weather Attribution.
The
senators also implore the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission
and other law enforcement agencies to file their own lawsuits against parties
who participated in climate deception, and request a meeting with Garland.
“The
polluters must pay,” the senators wrote.
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