This story was originally published in the Guardian, and is reproduced as part of the Climate Desk Collaboration. In a new prosecution memo, lawyers argue that prosecutors in Arizona can reasonably press homicide cases against Big Oil in connection with deaths caused by the July 2023 heatwave. “[T]he argument for bringing criminal charges against fossil fuel companies in climate-related deaths is strong and merits the initiation of prosecution.”
[[{“value”:”This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced these as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
In a new prosecution memorandum, lawyers wrote in a fresh prosecution memorandum that prosecutors in Arizona could legitimately bring homicide charges against Big Oil for deaths caused by a July 2023 heatwave.
The document states that “[T]he powerful case for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for deaths related to climate is sufficient to warrant the initiation of investigations by state and regional prosecutors.”
The state could pursue reckless manslaughter or second-degree murder claims based on the memo, which was released on Wednesday by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, for the severe weather event that killed hundreds of residents and which climate scientists determined would have been “virtually difficult” but for the climate crisis, which was generally brought on by the burning of fossil fuels.
Victims of the heatwave were varied, the memo’s authors write.
The memo states that while some victims were older and had pre-existing health conditions, the authors note, others were young and healthy, and some were poor, like the man who died after breaking both legs while jumping over a fence outside an elementary school in a desperate attempt to find shade outside her$ 1 million home in Scottsdale.
The study comes as Arizona and several other US states have experienced extreme weather this month.
” As Americans reeled from another lethal heatwave last week, it’s important to remember that these climate disasters did n’t come out of nowhere”, said Aaron Regunberg, senior policy counsel with Public Citizen’s climate program and co- author of the report. They were deliberately caused by geological fuel companies that made the decision to suffer in order to keep their profits.
In subsequent years, forty cities and states have filed lawsuits against big oil companies for their involvement in the climate crisis and climate doubt. Among those existing cases, which are based on criminal prosecutions, quite as racketeering protections, and tort law.
Next year, Public Citizen proposed likewise filing legal charges—most somewhat, homicide—against the companies. The proposed plan may seem dramatic, and experts claim that bringing legal action would be difficult. However, the idea has sparked common interest among experts and officials, and good voters have backed it.
The prosecution memo represents a first step toward applying the constitutional theory.
Although civil rights are undoubtedly important, maybe only our legal laws can adequately address the harm someone has inflicted, according to Cindy Cho, a former federal prosecutor for more than ten years and co-author of the memo. If people are dying from human-caused climate change and the organizations that caused it knew the risks, it stands to reason that legal charges may be just what society expects.
Although the memo concentrates on Arizona especially, the authors claim that their findings” can serve as a starting point for any prosecutor” seeking justice for climate victims, arguing that they could inform legal efforts in “practically any jurisdiction that has experienced climate-related deaths.”
In a statement, climate activist and author Bill McKibben said:” What’s happened to the climate is a crime: after fair warning from scientists about what would happen, Big Oil went right ahead pouring carbon into the atmosphere, and now there’s a huge pile of dead bodies ( and a larger one of dead dreams )”.
According to him,” the only question left is whether our legal system will recognize these crimes,” and this analysis indicates that there is a good chance that the answer will be “yes.””}]] This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced these as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In a new prosecution memorandum, lawyers wrote in a fresh prosecution memorandum that Big Oil could realistically bring homicide charges against it for deaths caused by a July 2023 heatwave. The merit of bringing a case for fossil fuel companies to be prosecuted for deaths related to climate change is strong enough to warrant the initiation of the investigation.
This story was originally published in the Guardian, and is reproduced as part of the Climate Desk Collaboration. In a new prosecution memo, lawyers argue that prosecutors in Arizona can reasonably press homicide cases against Big Oil in connection with deaths caused by the July 2023 heatwave. “[T]he argument for bringing criminal charges against fossil fuel companies in climate-related deaths is strong and merits the initiation of prosecution.”
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