A new study revealed climate litigation aimed at fossil fuel companies has nearly tripled in the last ten years, as 86 climate lawsuits have been filed against the world's largest oil, gas, and coal-producing corporations, including BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total Energies.
The cases filed each year only continue to escalate since the Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, highlighting a growing mass movement to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in the climate crisis.
Oil Change International reports that fossil fuel corporations are responsible for 69% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, which has intensified the amount of legal pressure fossil fuel giants are facing.
Compensation for three types of lawsuits—climate damages, misleading advertising claims, and emissions reduction—has grown considerably in recent years.
Oil and gas companies, along with their investors, are looking at mounting financial risks from climate litigation.
Misleading advertising is putting pressure on oil and gas companies for continuously making false climate and environment-related claims, while emissions reduction has brought ten cases against fossil fuel companies over their failure to implement and maintain Paris-aligned emissions reductions.
One of the most notable cases is a Dutch court ruling that ordered Shell to reduce emissions—including from the oil and gas it sells—by 45% by 2023.
Shell has appealed the court's decision.
