Existing criminal laws, including those for reckless endangerment, causing or risking catastrophe, and involuntary manslaughter, could be used to prosecute oil companies for their alleged contributions to the climate crisis, according to a director at Public Citizen’s Climate Accountability Project.
Scientists have linked extreme weather events to the climate crisis. A study found that a Fourth of July heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without it. Other research suggests pollution from major oil companies made past climate-exacerbated heatwaves at least 10,000 times more likely compared to preindustrial levels.
Oil companies reportedly predicted their fossil fuels would cause "globally catastrophic" climate harms and "more violent weather" decades ago. Despite this knowledge, they allegedly engaged in campaigns of climate denial and deception.
Reckless endangerment laws criminalise conduct that creates a substantial risk of injury, while catastrophe laws address conduct creating widespread injury or damage. Involuntary manslaughter covers recklessly causing or substantially contributing to another person's death. A recent analysis indicated extreme heat from climate change may have caused over 20,000 deaths in Europe last month.
A Washington state court recently ruled that a lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry for wrongful death in a climate-induced heatwave will proceed to discovery and trial.