‘Not worth it to lie to the public’: AG seeks to take legal action against fossil fuel companies

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says her office will be seeking proposals from attorneys and law firms to take legal action against fossil fuel companies because of their contribution to climate change.

In a news release Thursday, Nessel argued that such companies are directly affecting Michiganders’ lives and said she wants to hold them accountable.

“These companies knew exactly what they were doing,” Nessel told News 8. “They had all of the information. They had all of the studies. But instead, they decided to embark on a disinformation campaign. They could’ve been turning to green energy years and years ago and avoided a lot of these damages. But instead, they decided to do everything they could to cover up climate change. To make billions of dollars in profits and now we’re all struggling and suffering with all of the damages that we’ve sustained as a result of their bad actions.”

Nessel said her office is asking for assistance to ensure that “Michigan is being properly indemnified” and doesn’t continue to fall victim to the dangers of climate change. She said the state has already faced far too much of an impact.

“If there’s one thing that affects every single solitary Michigander, it’s climate change,” she said. “There’s no escaping it. It doesn’t matter where you live in the state, it doesn’t matter what your income level is, your race, religion or any of those other factors. We are all going to be suffering as a result of climate change.”

Proposals will be selected based on a number of factors, like the qualifications and experience of the attorneys or firms, abilities, capacities and cost-effectiveness. Nessel’s office will make a final decision on awarding contracts after meeting with her staff.

Attorneys and firms that are selected will become special assistant attorneys general during the litigation process. To help the state’s case, the AG’s office will also be working with organizations like the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Michigan Department of Transportation to identify the ways climate change has impacted them.

Nessel likened the actions of fossil fuel companies to those of Big Tobacco or pharmaceutical companies that were behind the opioid crisis in the U.S. and how they lied about the dangers of these products to consumers.

“We know that was a lie,” she said. “I really hope that eventually, these industries will understand that it’s not worth it to lie to the public. It’s not worth it to disseminate a product that’s going to be so harmful to people.”

While her office has said it hopes to identify and select attorneys or firms by the end of June to begin filing against the fossil fuel industry, Nessel said she understands this process could take a long time to get settled — but it’s important to start now.

“I’m under no illusions that this isn’t going to be a difficult fight, but you can’t win a case that you never file. And this is an issue worth fighting for. We’re fighting for the financial future of Michigan residents. We could spend every dime of our tax dollars trying to remediate the significant effects of climate change or we could make the companies that caused climate change pay for it instead. And that’s what we seek to do,” Nessel said.

Interested parties in submitting proposals can do so by clicking here. Submissions must be made by June 5.

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