A gas company in Oregon has become the first utility to be sued by U.S. communities for the ravages of climate change.
Multnomah County has added NW Natural as a defendant to its 2023 climate liability lawsuit that seeks to hold major oil and gas producers and their allies financially responsible for a 2021 deadly heat wave. The case — one of two dozen nationwide that accuse the fossil fuel industry of deceiving the public about the dangers of their product — is the first to target a gas utility.
“NW Natural engaged in an enterprise of misrepresentation about the effects its products would have on the climate, and that the use of its products could cause an extreme heat event to occur,” the county alleged in an amended complaint filed Monday.
The complaint said the Portland-based, publicly traded utility “deceived the public by claiming that its product is safe, clean, and environmentally friendly” — despite the fact that methane is responsible for a large portion of human-made greenhouse gasses.
