A U.S. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit on Thursday that was brought by New York City against five major oil companies in early January that tried to hold those firms accountable for their role in climate change.
In the case that was brought against British Petroleum, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, New York City was seeking billions of dollars in damages claiming that the oil majors contribute to climate change.
John F. Keenan, U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of New York, however, dismissed the case by stating that the issue should be determined by the legislative and executive branches, rather than the judiciary.
'Climate change is a fact of life, as is not contested by Defendants. But the serious problems caused thereby are not for the judiciary to ameliorate. Global warming and solutions thereto must be addressed by the two other branches of government,' he said in a statement.
While New York City is reported to appeal the decision, it was a victory for oil majors.
'The City’s claims are ultimately based on the transboundary emission of greenhouse gases, indicating that these claims arise under federal common law and require a uniform standard of decision,' Chevron said in a statement.
'Congress has expressly delegated to the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] the determination as to what constitutes a reasonable amount of greenhouse gas emission under the Clean Air Act,' it added.
A federal judge in California last month dismissed lawsuits by San Francisco and Oakland that wanted to hold the fossil fuel industry responsible for global warming.
'The problem deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a district judge or jury in a public nuisance case,' U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup wrote in his decision last month.
Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
ovunc.kutlu@aa.com.tr