Chevron is trying to turn the tables on Rhode Island officials who filed a climate lawsuit by demanding that they show proof the oil giant produced fossil fuels in the state.
In a Providence courtroom Thursday, an attorney for the oil company pressed the judge to require the state to cough up documents that would prove Rhode Island’s allegations that Chevron “extracted, refined, manufactured, or sold a significant portion” of its products there.
The hearing marked the second time in less than a month that Chevron has appeared before Rhode Island Superior Court Judge William Carnes to argue details in the case.
Carnes last month dismissed the company’s bid to strike some of the allegations in the lawsuit, which argues that Chevron and other oil majors should be held financially accountable for misleading the public about the dangers of burning fossil fuels. The company had argued there was no evidence that the state ever investigated whether Chevron extracted or refined products in the Ocean State.
