Sue Big Oil

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Victory! The District of Squamish council voted 5-2 to join Sue Big Oil—a class-action lawsuit against global fossil fuel companies to recover a fair share of climate costs.

The lawsuit would seek to recover a share of the millions of dollars that the District of Squamish must spend on dikes, wildfire prevention, water management, and other climate-related costs, rather than passing those costs entirely on to residents.

Please take a moment to thank Mayor and Council for their climate leadership and fiscal responsibility!

Dear Mayor and Council, I'd like to thank you for joining the class action lawsuit to Sue Big Oil, and holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their pollution. Climate change is one of the major threats facing our community. As residents, we are already experiencing the impacts of climate change; and as taxpayers we are already paying the costs of dealing with and preparing for those climate impacts. As long as the fossil fuel industry makes billions of dollars on the assumption that we alone will pay for the costs of climate change, big oil companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil will have every incentive to continue to stand in the way of real action on climate change. I encourage you to continue to work with West Coast Environmental Law and My Sea to Sky to demand climate accountability and ensure that oil companies pay their fair share of climate costs. Thank you for your climate leadership. Sincerely,
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Why is this important?

Squamish is the third community in B.C. to sign on to Sue Big Oil. It’s really important that Council hears from Squamish residents how much we appreciate their climate leadership and fiscal responsibility. Because this vote happened at a Committee of the Whole, council will need to ratify (give formal consent to) its vote at a future council meeting.

We’re concerned that fossil fuel interests might pressure Council to back down, so please take a moment to thank Mayor and Council. Use the template letter above (easiest) or email council directly with a personalized letter: council@squamish.ca (most impactful).

Some example talking points:

You are a resident of Squamish, and you appreciate that your elected officials are looking for ways to recover the costs of climate change;
You are grateful for the climate leadership shown by council;
You appreciate that council has made a fiscally responsible choice to recover some of the costs of climate change from Big Oil & Gas;
Squamish is already spending $13 million on upgrading dikes, millions more on wildfire and emergency preparedness, and tens of thousands on measures to keep residents cool during heat waves;
The costs of climate change are only going to rise, and currently these costs are being borne by taxpayers;
The injustice of taxpayers alone bearing the costs of climate change, while oil and gas companies are off the hook.
Fossil fuel companies are making trillions of dollars in profits, while selling products that they have known for decades would cause climate change and impose costs on our communities;
These fossil fuel companies fought measures to move society away from fossil fuels with misinformation campaigns, lobbying and false solutions;
Your concerns about how your community will deal with the current and coming impacts of climate change. Talk about the particular climate impacts (such as wildfires or flooding) that face your community and that you worry about.
As long as fossil fuel companies believe that they will not pay any of the costs of climate change, they have no financial incentive to start making the major changes that are needed in the energy business to solve the climate crisis.
We need to make sure that Big Oil & Gas pay their fair share of climate costs.
Thank Mayor and Council for committing to join Sue Big Oil. Let them know they have your support.

What is Sue Big Oil?

For decades, oil and gas corporations have known that burning fossil fuels would cause the heat waves, wildfires, drought and flooding that we’re now experiencing in BC.

These multinational companies spent millions to deceive, deny and distract us on their way to billions in profit by preventing action on climate change.

How do we pay for a safer and healthier future for all British Columbians? We must force oil and gas corporations to change their business practices and pay their fair share for the harm they’re causing.

That’s why we called on the District of Squamish to join with other local governments to file a class action lawsuit to recover a fair share of our climate costs.

Learn more about the campaign here:
https://suebigoil.ca