Every day opening the news, there are a few heatwave-related disasters. People around the world are suffering, and many hundreds or thousands lost their lives due to unbearable heat. According to climate experts, these surging heat waves are far from natural.
The question is, shall we hold major fossil fuel companies criminally accountable for climate-related harms?
Last July, 403 people died from a brutal heat wave that hit Arizona.
“An unhoused man attempting to jump over a school fence to reach shade broke both his legs and died. In another case, a 73-year-old man fell while hanging his laundry and his body was found covered in burns and with a core temperature of 107 degrees. A woman also died in her $1 million Scottsdale home when the AC malfunctioned while a 33-year-old man collapsed and died while on a Saturday hike…”
Yesterday, the consumer advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen released a model prosecution memo holding major fossil fuel companies criminally accountable for climate-related harms, including deaths from climate disasters. A network of former prosecutors, criminal law professors, and other legal advocates developed the memo together, and it was co-authored.
The memo places the blame on nine Big Oil companies: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Occidental, BHP, Peabody and the American Petroleum Institute.
Even though the memo is only a sample document, it carries no legal weight. However, it might spark a much-needed conversation about how to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.
Many desert cities could one day become too hot for people to live in, even with plenty of air conditioning.
CTA: “If you're someone who is in a community that has experienced a climate disaster, or are a victim of a climate disaster yourself, we think it's important for folks to be sharing those stories with their local prosecutor in the same way they might for any other street level offense."
Ultimately Public Citizen's goal with the sample memo is to emphasize that — while their particular document focuses on Maricopa County — everyone has a case against the fossil fuel companies.
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Dear Vermeer Xie Your climate love has received over 50 agrees! We have reached out to Public Citizen by email and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! To reach more people and increase the chance of a response, click the Share button above to share the review on your social accounts. For every new member that joins We Don't Have Time from your network, we will plant a tree and attribute it to you! /Adam, We Don't Have Time
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Holding Big Oil accountable for heatwave deaths spotlights their role in climate change, pushing for stronger regulations and increased public awareness, ultimately driving the transition to sustainable energy sources and advancing the green agenda. We stan
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This initiative by Public Citizen is a step in the right direction towards justice.
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Authorities must take all the necessary steps to charge the polluter for the pollution.
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good job, every polluter should be held accountable