By The Star Staff
The Puerto Rico Department of Justice announced Monday that it is suing Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Chevron Phillips Chemical Puerto Rico Core LLC, ConocoPhillips, Shell PLC, Station Managers of Puerto Rico Inc., TotalEnergies and TotalEnergies Marketing PR Corp., seeking $1 billion for environmental damages.
The suit was filed in the San Juan Court of First Instance.
The Justice Department argues that, despite the above-listed companies’ knowledge that their products have caused and will continue to cause severe damage to and pollution in Puerto Rico and its natural resources, the defendants have distributed, marketed and promoted their products on the island through unfair and deceptive practices.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to provide appropriate warnings about the risks associated with the intended use of their products but instead improperly promoted them, concealing from the public the dangers of which they were aware. They also implemented sophisticated communications and public relations campaigns to mislead the public about the effects of using fossil fuels, according to the lawsuit.
As a result, the people of Puerto Rico have incurred and will continue to incur billions of dollars in costs to clean up disasters caused by climate change, the suit alleges. The costs include those associated with coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, increasingly frequent and severe storms, extreme flooding, destruction of coral reefs and mangrove forests, degradation of air and water quality, and loss of habitats and species, among other devastating impacts. The urgency of the situation cannot be overstated, the commonwealth agency said.
“These companies have known internally for decades that greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuel products would adversely impact global climate and sea levels,” Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández said. “Armed with that knowledge, they took steps to protect their assets from climate damage and risks through immense domestic investment in research, infrastructure improvements, and plans to exploit new business opportunities in a warming world. However, they did not truthfully warn Puerto Rican consumers about the consequences of using and burning fossil fuels on the island, as well as their impact on the environment. It is time for them to mitigate the damage they have caused to Puerto Rico and for Puerto Ricans not to be the ones to pay the bill.”
The lawsuit alleges that to this day, the defendants continue to deceive the public. They falsely and misleadingly promote their products as beneficial for the climate and themselves as advocates of change toward a low-carbon future, without warning that the consumption of their products is the main driver of climate change. The ongoing deception must be brought to light, the suit says.
In addition to environmental damages, the lawsuit includes causes of action for unfair and deceptive acts or practices in commerce, product liability, public nuisance, and punitive damages because the defendant’s negligent acts or omissions were carried out maliciously or with serious disregard for life, safety, and property.
The action also seeks to compel the defendants to contribute to an equitable fund to mitigate the current damages that the defendants’ illegal conduct has caused to Puerto Rico. Likewise, it seeks to strengthen public infrastructure against sea level rise and storm damage, restore natural resources, finance local climate resilience measures and rebuild natural barriers to protect communities from rising sea levels and atmospheric phenomena influenced by the climate.
The lawsuit, which originated after a study conducted by the Puerto Rico Climate Change Council in 2022, is based on the Law on Environmental Public Policy, the Antitrust Law of Puerto Rico, the Civil Code of 2020 and the Civil Prosecution Code.
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