Vancouver city council has voted to endorse a proposal to spend up to $660,000 to fund a class action lawsuit against major fossil fuel companies, asking them to pay for climate change-related costs borne by municipalities.
In a council meeting on July 20, Mayor Kennedy Stewart voted to break the tie in favour of the decision.
The proposed lawsuit against major fuel companies stems from a recent campaign called “Sue Big Oil,” launched by B.C.-based West Coast Environmental Law, a non-profit group of environmental lawyers and strategists.
The campaign alleges that the fossil fuel industry has played a role in “knowingly causing climate change and blocking policies and actions to address climate change.” It urges local governments to take legal action to force the world’s oil and gas companies to pay for their share of climate change-related costs, citing examples such as sea wall repair and protection from extreme heat….