Fighting for what is right is not always flashy — it’s often difficult, detail-oriented, and diligent work. Pursuing a just path takes time and patience because building a better future takes more effort than tearing something down.
That’s why we applaud the diligent work Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has been putting into our state’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil for its decades of climate lies and destruction — and take a moment to celebrate Connecticut’s latest win in the case.
The day before Thanksgiving a state judge rejected Exxon’s attempt to strike the case, allowing Connecticut’s case to move onto the discovery phase. This ruling means the people of Connecticut are one step closer to making Exxon stop deceiving the public and fund an education campaign about climate change to correct their decades of lies.
Exxon has spent decades deceiving the public about the dangers of its fossil fuel products, publicly emphasizing the “uncertainty” of climate change while its executives reviewed damning reports that warned of “potentially catastrophic events” that would be triggered by the continued burning of fossil fuels. This campaign of lies has allowed Exxon to, in the words of Connecticut’s lawsuit, “inflict decades of avoidable harm” on our state’s land, coastline, infrastructure, wildlife, and ecosystem.
We’re feeling the impacts of climate change on Connecticut every time we step outside. Our winters are warmer and wetter, while our summers get drier. As annual flooding has expanded into new areas of our state, home flood repair costs in Connecticut now rank the highest in the nation, racking up costs for so many of our most vulnerable communities. We saw those threats first-hand when hours of severe rain triggered devastating floods in Oxford last year, killing three people and washing away dozens of roads, homes, and businesses.
In some areas of our state, the severity of these climate threats is raising the cost of home insurance, putting financial strain on homeowners amidst rising inflation and other cost of living increases.
Why should our taxpayers be the ones burdened with the financial strain of climate change when it was Big Oil companies that knowingly spread disinformation and deception about the dangers of their products for decades, stealing away precious time from communities and leaders to transition to cleaner, cheaper forms of energy? Connecticut’s lawsuit against Exxon will not give us back the time oil companies stole from us with their lies, but it will put us on a path toward holding bad actors accountable.
Since Connecticut’s case was first filed in 2020, Exxon has been trying every trick in the book to avoid facing the evidence of its climate lies in court. Big Oil lobbyists are even lobbying Congress in an attempt to secure a legal shield that would block communities like Connecticut from holding them accountable in court. We’re proud that Senator Richard Blumenthal has long been a champion of court access and climate accountability.
It’s critically important that all our representatives in Congress speak out against these attacks and ensure that any attempt to give Big Oil a legal shield does not pass. Despite Exxon’s delay tactics, courts have affirmed Connecticut’s case at every step, moving it closer and closer to trial.
So let’s take a moment to celebrate this latest win, and then get back to the work of fighting for accountability. Connecticut is one step closer to its day in court.
Reps. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, and Steve Winter, D-New Haven, serve in the Connecticut General Assembly.