Two Washington state residents are suing the fossil fuel industry for contributing to climate change, arguing that a spike in natural disasters has led to rising homeowner insurance premiums.
The case is the first climate lawsuit to focus on insurance costs and marks a new escalation in climate litigation, a field that has largely been comprised of cities and states suing the industry for the costs of dealing with rising tides and warming temperatures.
Filed last Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the lawsuit seeks national class action certification and names oil and gas giants Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. It accuses the companies of mounting a “coordinated and deliberate scheme to hide the truth about climate change and the effects of burning fossil fuels.”
The companies’ “deceptive and unlawful conduct,” the lawsuit says, has resulted in extreme weather events and “precipitated a home-owners insurance crisis.”
