Québec solidaire wants oil companies to pay for climate crisis

Québec solidaire (QS) is calling on the Quebec government to sue big oil companies for damages caused by climate change.

The consequences of climate change in Quebec “are being felt more and more strongly” and “it is not up to Quebecers to pay for these consequences,” said future QS spokesperson Ruba Ghazal on Wednesday morning.

QS argues that Shell, Suncor, Valero and Exxon, which sell oil in Quebec, misled the public by downplaying the climate risks posed by fossil fuels and, therefore, must pay for the damage.

“Oil companies alone are responsible for a third, or even half, of global GHGs (green house gases). They must pay for the damage they have caused, it is a question of justice,” added the MNA during a press briefing.

“All political parties say they want to protect Quebec from climate change, but none have the courage to do what is necessary: ​​make those responsible for the climate crisis pay,” added Alejandra Zaga Mendez, the QS MNA responsible for matters of climate change and the environment.

Lies and disinformation

Dozens of U.S. municipalities as well as eight states and Washington, D.C., have sued oil and gas companies in recent years for their role in climate change, according to data from the Center for Climate Integrity.

Those actions are still working their way through the courts, including a lawsuit California filed a year ago against some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, claiming they misled the public about the risks of fossil fuels.

A study in the journal Science published in 2023 shows that Exxon Mobil, owner of the Esso brand, long hid from the public its knowledge of the causal link between oil production and the climate crisis.

For decades, the oil giant has publicly questioned the reality of global warming and denied the accuracy of scientists’ climate models. However, various investigations, including the one published in Science, show that Exxon had, as early as the 1980s, internal scientific work allowing it to accurately predict climate change.

“Exxon is known internationally, they had hidden information since the ’70s,” but “we want the government to pursue the different companies, not only for having hidden information,” but for “the misdeeds, “that is to say the impacts of climate change”, this is what “California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island” are doing, explained Zaga Mendez.

“Adapting to climate change is going to cost so much money. Where are we going to get the money? In the pockets of Quebecers or in those of the companies that lied and are responsible for its effects?”

The example of tobacco

Asked what part of the responsibility lies with the citizen who chooses to consume fossil fuels to travel, even if they are responsible for the climate crisis, Ghazal drew a parallel with the tobacco industry.

“The government has not decided to go after all smokers because smoking is not good for their health and it costs money. We decided in Quebec, collectively, that we have a health system for everyone, regardless of what people have done in their lives” and “the people responsible [for the climate crisis] are not the people who, sometimes, have no other choice than to use their car or truck, it is the companies that put these products on the market and who then lied,” summarized Ghazal.

“In the case of tobacco, this is not an argument that was accepted, in any case not sufficiently to exonerate them, so we have an important parallel,” added Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, the QS MNA responsible for matters of justice.

QS demands the Quebec government take inspiration from the recent defeat of cigarette manufacturers in court to bring the oil companies into line.

After defending themselves tooth and nail for 25 years in court, Canadian tobacco giants will finally have to pay $32.5 billion to Canadian victims of smoking and the provinces for the health costs caused by their products, according to what an Ontario judge ruled last month.

“Like the oil companies, the tobacco industry knew that cigarettes were harmful to health, but hid it from the population. Result: tobacco companies will have to pay $6 billion in Quebec. What are we waiting for to do the same thing with the big polluters?” concluded Cliche-Rivard.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews