Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a resolution in support of California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s “People of California v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al” lawsuit. The resolution passed with a 3-1 vote, with only Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson voting against it.  

“Today our County stood up to big oil with our support of Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit to hold Big Oil accountable for the harm they are causing in communities across California,” said Supervisor Lawson-Remer, Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors. “Protecting our beaches, bays and coastlines against the looming impacts of climate change requires adaptation, mitigation and funding to make investments that tackle this crisis. When the AG’s lawsuit succeeds, communities across San Diego County and California will receive tremendous benefits.”

"From rising sea levels to ravaging wildfires, we have seen the devastating impacts of climate change across our state, including in San Diego County,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “With the Department of Justice’s lawsuit, we are shining a light on oil and gas companies’ decades-long deception regarding the burning of fossil fuels at the expense of our environment. I am deeply grateful to Supervisor Lawson-Remer’s leadership and for supporting our efforts to hold big polluters accountable.”  

  The resolution Supervisor Lawson-Remer passed reads in part:

“...WHEREAS, for decades, the defendants have known about the dangers and repercussions that burning fossil fuels would have, and yet they proceeded to engage in misleading information and advertising campaigns, and protect their profit over people; and

“WHEREAS, the defendants internal research linked fossil fuel use to rising global temperatures and damage to our air, land, and water; and

“WHEREAS, wildfires are wiping out communities, floods are destroying homes, air quality is impacted, and deadly heat waves and record-breaking droughts continue to impact our residents; and

“WHEREAS, billions of dollars have already been spent by the state to recover from damages, and to support mitigation and adaptation measures...”

The lawsuit by Attorney General Bonta seeks financial damages from the five largest fossil fuel companies in the world – Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and the American Petroleum Institute. The lawsuit outlines how these entities have used “false advertisements” and “greenwashing” practices to deceive the public about the “reality of climate change and the connection between combustion of fossil fuels and climate change and the climate change related harms in California.” 

Fossil fuels are measured to be the largest contributor to global greenhouse gasses at over 75% and can also be attributed for nearly 90% of carbon emissions according to the United Nations.

Click the following links to read the policy and resolution.