De Blasio: Oil Companies Should Pay for Damage
from Climate-Change Induced Superstorm Sandy
by Penny Starr11 Jan 2018
New York City Mayor Bill
de Blasio announced on Wednesday that he is suing the largest oil companies
in the United States for what he says is the fossil fuel industry’s role
in causing climate change.
The lawsuit seeks billions in compensation for the damage
done from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and more money to pay for
preparing the city for future climate change-related events.
“The city of New York is taking on these five giants
because they are the central actors, they are the first ones responsible for
this crisis, and they should not get away with it anymore,” de Blasio said in a
Washington Post report. “We’re going after those who have profited.”
“And what a horrible, disgusting way to profit — the way
it puts so many people’s lives in danger,” de Blasio said. “It’s time that
they are held accountable.”
The storm killed 53 people and caused an estimated $19
billion in damages.
The Post reported:
The suit, filed Tuesday against BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch
Shell and ExxonMobil, claims the companies together
produced 11 percent of all of global warming gases through the oil and gas
products they have sold over the years.
It also charges that the companies and the industry
have known for some time about the “consequences of climate change” but sought
to obscure them.
“In this litigation, the city seeks to shift the
costs of protecting the city from climate change impacts back onto the companies
that have done nearly all they could to create this existential threat,”
attorney Zachary Carter said of the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New York.
The mayor also called for the city to divest billions of
dollars in city pension funds invested in the oil and gas industry.
Politico reported:
The mayor will also call on several of the city’s pension
funds to divest from oil companies, two sources with knowledge of the
announcement confirmed to Politico.
The mayor’s call for divestment, which will ultimately
have to be voted on by the pension boards, is expected to be supported by City
Comptroller Scott Stringer, who in the past has called for coal divestment and
recently proposed exploring other means of divestment.
The largest oil and gas trade association in the United
States said in the Post report that the mayor should be protecting
investors not advancing the climate change agenda.
“Today Mayor de Blasio turned his back on millions of
first responders, police officers and public employees who depend on their
pensions to provide for themselves and their families in retirement,” Karen
Moreau of the American Petroleum Institute, said.
“Government pension managers have a responsibility by law
to seek the greatest return for their investors, and pensions that invest in
oil and natural gas companies have delivered a stronger return than other
investments,” Moreau said.
And the National Manufacturers Association (NAM)
criticized the lawsuit and divestment plan, claiming it hurts workers in New
York City.
Crain’s New York Business reported:
The National Association of Manufacturers held a
conference call with reporters just before de Blasio and city Comptroller Scott
Stringer—along with celebrity activists Bill McKibben and Naomi Wolf—declared
that the city would dump around $5 billion worth of investments in 190
“horrible, disgusting” fossil-fuel firms over the next five years.
But NAM asserted both actions are ill-considered and
hyper-political—damaging both to New Yorkers and long-beleaguered factory
employment.
“It’s a fundamental waste of the court’s time and the
taxpayer’s resources,” NAM Senior Vice President Linda Kelly said in Crain’s
reporting. “The issue of climate change is not an appropriate one for the
courts to be trying.”
Crain’s noted that NAM’s executive board includes
officials from Exxon Mobil and other companies in the energy and automotive
sector.
“Instead of focusing on politics here, Mayor de Blasio
should be focusing on his fiduciary duties to New York City’s public
employees,” Chris Netram, the industry organization’s vice president of tax and
domestic economic policy, said. “The mayor needs to stop playing politics with
the pension plans of the police officers, firefighters, and teachers.”
The Post reported responses from three of the oil
companies targeted in the lawsuit.
“This lawsuit is factually and legally meritless, and
will do nothing to address the serious issue of climate change,” Chevron
spokesman Braden Reddall wrote in an email. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
is a global issue that requires global engagement. Should this litigation
proceed, it will only serve special interests at the expense of broader policy,
regulatory and economic priorities.”
Suzanne McCarron, Exxon’s vice president of
public and government affairs, wrote in a blog:
ExxonMobil welcomes any well-meaning and good faith
attempt to address the risks of climate change. Reducing greenhouse gas
emissions is a global issue and requires global participation and actions.
Lawsuits of this kind — filed by trial attorneys against an industry that
provides products we all rely upon to power the economy and enable our domestic
life — simply do not do that.
“[Climate change] is a complex societal
challenge that should be addressed through sound government policy and cultural
change to drive low-carbon choices for businesses and consumers, not in the
courts,” Curtis Smith, head of U.S. media relations for Shell, wrote in
an email.
Let’s connect the dots:
Mayor Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio
is the New York (NY) mayor, and a
director at the Alliance for Downtown
New York.
Note: Michael R.
Bloomberg was the New York (NY)
mayor, a director at the Alliance for
Downtown New York, an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone, a donor for the Robin
Hood Foundation, is Emma Bloomberg’s
father, the founder of the Bloomberg
Family Foundation, a founding member of the Climate Leadership Council, and a friend of Henry A. Kissinger.
John McCain Stays Silent on Involvement in Hoax Trump Dossier
After Fusion GPS Revelations (PAST RESEARCH ON THE ONE CAMPAIGN)
Friday, January 12, 2018
Cindy Hensley
McCain is married to Senator John S.
McCain III, and was an advocate for the ONE Campaign.
Michelle Obama
was an advocate for the ONE Campaign,
and a lawyer for Sidley Austin LLP.
Sidley Austin
LLP is the lobby firm for the Chevron
Corp.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee, the Harlem Children's Zone, the Robin
Hood Foundation, the Climate Reality
Project, the Aspen Institute (think
tank), and the ClimateWorks
Foundation.
George
Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, Bono attended
his 2013 wedding reception, an advisory board member for the Earth Institute (think tank), and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.
Bono
attended George Soros’s 2013 wedding
reception, an advisory board member for the Earth Institute (think tank), and is a co-founder for the ONE Campaign.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
U2’s Bono has joined the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey
Relief Fund’s Honorary Advisory Board
2013-02-06
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
Carl-Henric
Svanberg was an advisory board member for the Earth Institute (think tank), and is the chairman for BP p.l.c.
Robin Hood
Foundation raised
money for the Hurricane Sandy relief.
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is a relief organization for Hurricane Sandy.
Mary Pat
Christie is the chair for the Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, married to Christopher J. Christie, and Cam
Henderson was her chief of staff.
Christopher
J. Christie is married to Mary Pat
Christie, the New Jersey state
government governor, was the candidate for the 2016 Chris Christie presidential campaign, and Kenneth G. Langone was a supporter for 2012 presidential bid.
Christie Allegedly Diverted Millions In Hurricane Sandy
Relief Funds To Pay For TV Ads Starring Himself
Igor Volsky
Jan 13, 2014, 1:53 pm
Cam Henderson
was the finance director for the 2016
Chris Christie presidential campaign, Mary
Pat Christie’s chief of staff, and is an executive director for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is a relief organization for Hurricane Sandy.
Robin Hood
Foundation raised money for the Hurricane
Sandy relief.
Kenneth G. Langone
was a supporter for Christopher J.
Christie’s 2012 presidential bid, is a trustee at the Harlem Children's Zone, and a director emeritus for the Robin Hood Foundation.
Emma Bloomberg was
the chief of staff for the Robin Hood
Foundation, is a director at the Robin
Hood Foundation, Michael R.
Bloomberg’s daughter, and a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
Michael R. Bloomberg
is Emma Bloomberg’s father, the
founder of the Bloomberg Family
Foundation, and a founding member of the Climate Leadership Council.
BP
p.l.c. is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council.
Exxon Mobil
Corp. is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council.
Shell Oil
Company is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council.
Vinod
Khosla is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council, and was a partner emeritus for Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers was a donor for The Climate Project.
Albert A. Gore Jr.
is an adviser for Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers, the chairman for the Climate Reality Project, and was a donor for The Climate Project.
The Climate
Project was a merged organization with the Climate Reality Project.
Sam
Nunn is a director at the Bloomberg
Family Foundation, and was a director at the Chevron Corp.
Bloomberg
Family Foundation was a funder for the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
Henry A. Kissinger was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank), a supporter for Christopher J. Christie’s 2012 presidential bid, is an overseer at
the International Rescue Committee, a director at the American Friends
of Bilderberg (think tank), the founder of Kissinger Associates, Inc., a friend of Michael R. Bloomberg, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
J. Stapleton Roy
was the vice chairman for Kissinger
Associates, Inc., and a director at ConocoPhillips.
William K. Reilly
was a director at ConocoPhillips,
and is the chairman emeritus for the ClimateWorks
Foundation.
Bloomberg
Family Foundation was a funder for the ClimateWorks
Foundation.
Susan F. Tierney
is a director at the ClimateWorks
Foundation, and was a member of the National
Petroleum Council.
Charles O. Holliday
Jr. was a director at the ClimateWorks
Foundation, and is the chairman for the Royal Dutch Shell plc.
Harold W. McGraw
III was a director at ConocoPhillips,
and is a member of the Advisory
Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Christopher
J. Christie was a member of the Advisory
Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, the candidate for the 2016 Chris Christie presidential campaign,
is the New Jersey state government governor,
and married to Mary Pat Christie.
Cam Henderson
was the finance director for the 2016
Chris Christie presidential campaign, Mary
Pat Christie’s chief of staff, and is an executive director for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is a relief organization for Hurricane Sandy.
Mary Pat
Christie is married to Christopher
J. Christie, the chair for the Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, and Cam
Henderson was her chief of staff.
Robin Hood
Foundation raised money for the Hurricane
Sandy relief.
Emma Bloomberg
was the chief of staff for the Robin
Hood Foundation, is a director at the Robin
Hood Foundation, Michael R.
Bloomberg’s daughter, and a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was a donor for the Robin
Hood Foundation, is Emma Bloomberg’s
father, the founder of the Bloomberg
Family Foundation, and a founding member of the Climate Leadership Council.
BP
p.l.c. is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council.
Exxon Mobil
Corp. is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council.
Shell Oil
Company is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council.
Vinod
Khosla is a founding member of the Climate
Leadership Council, and was a partner emeritus for Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers was a donor for The Climate Project.
Albert A. Gore Jr.
is an adviser for Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers, the chairman for the Climate Reality Project, and was a donor for The Climate Project.
The Climate
Project was a merged organization with the Climate Reality Project.
Sam
Nunn is a director at the Bloomberg
Family Foundation, and was a director at the Chevron Corp.
Sidley Austin
LLP is the lobby firm for the Chevron
Corp.
Michelle Obama
was a lawyer for Sidley Austin LLP,
and an advocate for the ONE Campaign.
Cindy Hensley
McCain was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, and is married to Senator
John S. McCain III.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
John McCain Stays Silent on Involvement in Hoax Trump Dossier
After Fusion GPS Revelations (PAST RESEARCH ON THE ONE CAMPAIGN)
Friday, January 12, 2018
Bono
is a co-founder for the ONE Campaign,
attended George Soros’s 2013 wedding
reception, and an advisory board member for the Earth Institute (think tank).
Carl-Henric
Svanberg was an advisory board member for the Earth Institute (think tank), and is the chairman for BP p.l.c.
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