How to Sue Big Oil & Gas?
Suing the world’s largest oil companies will ensure that BC communities and local governments have the resources needed to pay for skyrocketing climate costs, while making the fossil fuel industry curtail its climate-destroying practices. Here’s how it works.
Step 1
We mobilize Abbotsford residents who support suing Big Oil for a portion of climate costs. People join the campaign by signing the Petition to Sue Big Oil.
Step 2
Using this petition, we show Abbotsford City Council that there is lots of support to join the class action lawsuit against the world’s largest and most polluting oil and Gas companies.
Step 3
Local governments including Abbotsford sue Big Oil for a fair share of climate costs. The class action lawsuit goes to court. To learn more, read Suing Fossil Fuel Giants.
Frequently asked questions
Can we really win against some of the biggest companies in the world?
Yes we can! In fact, Shell has already lost a climate lawsuit in the Netherlands. Meanwhile there are dozens of lawsuits targeting oil, gas and coal for climate impacts in the United States.
28 Canadian law professors think that local governments in Canada should consider this type of lawsuit too.
You may have heard about past lawsuits involving the Tobacco, Pharmaceutical and Asbestos industries. In each of these cases, huge companies thought that they were invincible, but ultimately had to pay the price for their irresponsible behaviour.
Which oil companies will be targeted in the lawsuit?
The local governments engaged in the lawsuit will choose which companies to sue. Under Canadian law, lawsuits can be brought against multinational companies in BC’s courts as long as there is a “real and substantial connection” to the province. The fact that the climate impacts are being felt in BC creates that “real and substantial connection” and allows our local governments to sue international companies under BC law. The Sue Big Oil campaign proposes targeting the world’s largest multinational fossil fuel companies, such as Chevron (a US company), Shell (a UK company) and Exxon (a US company), and even Saudi Aramco (a Saudi Arabian company), as they are responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions.
Won’t a lawsuit take years? This is a climate crisis - we don’t have time to lose!
While it is true it could take years to get a final decision in our lawsuit, filing the lawsuit will still have a huge, immediate impact on the behaviour of these companies, their investors and governments.
Corporations are required by law to inform investors of any “material risks” associated with their business operations. When they do, investors and governments will realize that investing in, and subsidising, oil, gas and coal brings legal and financial risks, and then change their investment decisions. It is also possible that Big Oil will decide to settle rather than go to trial.
Although it may take years, winning a lawsuit against Big Oil will still help BC communities pay the skyrocketing costs of climate change, while ensuring that fossil fuel companies pay their fair share, which is crucial.
Is this just a way for lawyers to make money?
The lawyers for this lawsuit would be selected by the local governments filing the lawsuit, and there is no expectation that West Coast Environmental Law (the Secretariat to Sue Big Oil) and other lawyers involved in the campaign will be retained. We anticipate that the lawyers that the local governments hire would include lawyers working at reduced rates and with the support of volunteer lawyers, law students, in-house municipal lawyers and lawyers working for public interest non-profit organisations.
Shouldn’t we focus on other ways of reducing the impacts of climate change, like shrinking our carbon footprint?
When it comes to climate change, there is no single approach or solution that will fix the problem. We need to do everything we can to prevent and manage the effects of climate change. Reducing one’s carbon footprint is a good idea – especially if it’s a large carbon footprint! But fossil fuel companies, among the biggest polluters, need to do their part too.
Climate change is already causing, and will continue to cause devastation in our communities for decades to come. And the most marginalised people within our communities are the most vulnerable to climate impacts. Therefore our communities still need a way to pay for the skyrocketing costs of climate damage, adaptation and preparedness. Suing Big Oil will help communities pay for climate costs – and will force a change in industry.
Who is behind Sue Big Oil?
Sue Big Oil is a collaboration of ordinary British Columbians concerned about climate change and the harm caused to BC communities by the global fossil fuel industry. West Coast Environmental Law, an environmental law non-profit based in Vancouver, BC founded the campaign and acts as its secretariat and legal adviser. See the About Page for a complete list of endorsers and affiliated organizations.
Who is Abby Fair Share?
We are residents of Abbotsford volunteering our time to raise awareness and encourage city council to sign onto the class action lawsuit to make oil and gas pay their fair share.
Which municipalities have already joined the class action lawsuit?
Gibsons, View Royal, Slocan, Qualicum Beach, Squamish, Burnaby, Port Moody, Sechelt, Cumberland (click through to read more about their campaigns to Sue Big Oil.)
Who sees that I have signed? Who sees my information?
The petition will be sent to the City of Abbotsford, where councillors and staff will see your name, email, and other details you provided. Your contact information will be kept by Abby Fair Share and shared with the provincial Sue Big Oil campaign. We’ll use it to update you on progress and invite you to get involved.
If I make a contribution, where does that go?
Contributions made via New/Mode after signing the petition are used to promote the petition. These are managed by New/Mode and not Abby Fair Share.
Who is New/Mode?
New/Mode is an advocacy platform we are using for securely collecting the signatures for our petition and sending the petition on to City council.
Is this a "legal" petition?
t is a petition to the City of Abbotsford to prove to council that there is significant support here in Abbotsford for the City to join the class action lawsuit. City Council may respond to the petition by debating or voting on the issue, but they are not legally bound to act based on the petition alone.
By contrast, The outcome of a legal petition is binding. The court or legal authority must make a ruling, which could lead to enforcement actions, legal penalties, or changes in policy as required by law.
How is my contact information protected?
It is encrypted in transit. It is encrypted at rest. It is double encrypted on backups. Security best practices are followed for New/Mode server administration. Your information will be used for the intended purpose only, with a small number of people from Abby Fair Share & Sue Big Oil & the City of Abbotsford seeing contact information.
ExxonMobil (1981): An internal email revealed that Exxon “first got interested in climate change in 1981” when they realized that developing the Natuna gas field would result in large CO2 emissions, making it a significant contributor to global emissions. Despite this awareness, they pursued the project without public disclosure of its climate impacts.
Abby Fair Share is the Abbotsford chapter of
