WEBVTT - Minnesota and D.C. File Climate Fraud Suits

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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome to Drilled. I'm Amy Westervelt, and this

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<v Speaker 1>was a hell of a week for climate lawsuits. On Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>the state of Minnesota sued Exxon Coke Industries and the

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<v Speaker 1>American Petroleum Institute in a groundbreaking case alleging consumer fraud

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<v Speaker 1>pegged to thirty years of climate disinformation campaigns. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>really bold suit, taking a new approach. It's centered on

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<v Speaker 1>disinformation about climate change as a crime against the people

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<v Speaker 1>of Minnesota. And then the very next day, on Thursday morning, Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>d C. Filed its climate disinformation suit against BP, Chevron, Exon, Mobil,

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<v Speaker 1>and Shell. Like the Minnesota case, the DC case is

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<v Speaker 1>built around consumer protection law, not nuisance law, which the

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<v Speaker 1>majority of other climate cases are based on. That's a

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<v Speaker 1>really important distinction and it will be interesting to watch

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<v Speaker 1>what happens with both the nuisance and these consumer fraud

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<v Speaker 1>approaches in the months ahead. We'll have more details on

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<v Speaker 1>the Minnesota and DC cases for you right after this

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<v Speaker 1>quick message from today's sponsor.

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<v Speaker 2>We're here sing these three next cases specifically because the

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<v Speaker 2>designed conducted funding this campaign of deception, then carrying out

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<v Speaker 2>in Minnesota and violation of the law.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so that is Attorney General from the Great State

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<v Speaker 1>of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, announcing a lawsuit against the American

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<v Speaker 1>Petroleum Institute exon Mobile and Coke Industries. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>really big deal, starting with the fact that none of

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<v Speaker 1>the other climate lawsuits have named the API and Coke,

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<v Speaker 1>which is interesting because those are two names that you

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<v Speaker 1>hear a lot when you hear about climate denial. But

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<v Speaker 1>this suit is squarely focused on disinformation, so it makes

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of sense that API and Coke would be included. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>Coke does actually operate a refinery in Minnesota as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Coke Industries and its owners, the infamous Charles and David Coke,

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<v Speaker 1>were major funders of climate denial through the nineties and

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<v Speaker 1>two thousands, funding various front groups and think tanks and

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<v Speaker 1>all sorts of messaging against climate action. The API, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>is an organization we've covered a lot in this podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>They've been round for over one hundred years and have

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<v Speaker 1>been a key architect and funder of climate denial for decades.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's environmental sociologist Bob Brule talking about how much they

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<v Speaker 1>spent with just one PR firm, Edelman from two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>and eight to twenty twelve.

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<v Speaker 3>Two thousand and eight and got seventy five million dollars

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<v Speaker 3>that year, and then two thousand and nine, let's see,

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<v Speaker 3>two thousand and nine, they got sixty eight million dollars.

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<v Speaker 3>Twenty ten they got sixty three million dollars, and then

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<v Speaker 3>in twenty eleven they got sixty eight million dollars, and

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<v Speaker 3>then in twenty twelve fifty two million.

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<v Speaker 1>That's hundreds of millions of dollars in one contract to

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<v Speaker 1>one firm over just four years. Some of that money

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<v Speaker 1>went toward ad campaigns, some of it went to front groups,

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<v Speaker 1>some went to pr All of it was in the

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<v Speaker 1>service of promoting fossil fuels as a great and necessary

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<v Speaker 1>part of America, undermining anything that said otherwise, including the

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<v Speaker 1>science on climate change. The Minnesota case alleges that these

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<v Speaker 1>three broke Minnesota consumer protection laws by essentially lying to

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<v Speaker 1>the public about climate change. It's an interesting approach because,

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<v Speaker 1>unlike the fourteen climate liability cases making their way through

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<v Speaker 1>various state and federal courts right now, this one is

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<v Speaker 1>unlikely to deal with jurisdictional issues. It's a state suit

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<v Speaker 1>about the violation of state laws. That makes it a

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<v Speaker 1>lot harder for fossil fuel defendants to remove it to

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<v Speaker 1>federal court, which is something they've tried to do in

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<v Speaker 1>all of these cases. Here's Assistant Attorney General Lee Curry

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<v Speaker 1>spelling it out. This book Paint does not seek to

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<v Speaker 1>hold these companies accountable for climate change.

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<v Speaker 3>It seeks to hold.

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<v Speaker 4>Them accountable for violating Minnesota's unction.

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<v Speaker 2>Launch.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, the case also comes on the heels of

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<v Speaker 1>weeks worth of Black Lives Matter protests that started in

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<v Speaker 1>Minnesota over the police killing of George Floyd, and Ellison

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<v Speaker 1>and his colleagues made the connection between climate change and

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<v Speaker 1>racial justice. Crystal Clear. Sam Grant, the director of Minnesota

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<v Speaker 1>three point fifty, had this to say, we have.

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<v Speaker 2>Freedom to profit over freedom degrees. A writer that the

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<v Speaker 2>freedom degrees must come first because we have to live

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<v Speaker 2>in order for anything else to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>And on the first page of the complaint, in the

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<v Speaker 1>very first paragraph, it reads, quote warming will continue with

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<v Speaker 1>devastating economic and public health consequences across the state, and

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<v Speaker 1>in particular disproportionately impact people living in poverty and people

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<v Speaker 1>of color. This is the first time I've seen environmental

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<v Speaker 1>justice mentioned this explicitly in any of these climate cases.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's great to see it. And the DC case

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<v Speaker 1>also notes that low income communities and communities of color

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<v Speaker 1>and elderly communities will be disproportionately impacted by climate change.

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<v Speaker 1>Like the Minnesota case, it also hinges on consumer protection statutes.

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<v Speaker 1>Filing suit under these consumer protection laws means that Minnesota

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<v Speaker 1>and Washington d C. Do not have to prove they

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<v Speaker 1>are suffering specific climate harms like more extreme wildfires or flooding,

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<v Speaker 1>or rising sea levels or higher temperatures, even though of

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<v Speaker 1>course those things are happening. They don't have to prove it.

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<v Speaker 1>They don't have to prove that the fossil fuel companies

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<v Speaker 1>even caused it. What they do have to prove is

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<v Speaker 1>that the fossil field defendants lied to consumers, that they

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<v Speaker 1>have put out misleading information false advertising. The DC complain

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<v Speaker 1>also includes withholding information from the public. Here's Kate Kanopka,

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<v Speaker 1>Deputy Attorney General in charge of the Public Advocacy Division

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<v Speaker 1>for DC. She wrote DC's climate complaint and explains how

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<v Speaker 1>this consumer protection statute works. Here.

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<v Speaker 4>I want to be clear that Kate has been as

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<v Speaker 4>a consumer protection case and so in fact, the harm

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<v Speaker 4>comes to consumers when they are not given full and

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<v Speaker 4>accurate information about the purchases that they are making. And

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<v Speaker 4>so it's very important for us to keep in mind

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<v Speaker 4>that one, there is no requirement for us to show harm,

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<v Speaker 4>but two that really the point of the matter is

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<v Speaker 4>is that these consumers have been harmed by their failure

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<v Speaker 4>to be able to make informed purchasing decisions. Our Consumer

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<v Speaker 4>Protection Statute is an extremely broad remedial vehicle which gives

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<v Speaker 4>us a very broad ability not only affirmativeness representations, but

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<v Speaker 4>also the company's failure to provide information that they had

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<v Speaker 4>that would have been material to purchasers purchasing decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>The DC complaint focuses quite a bit on the fossil

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<v Speaker 1>fuel companies more recent at campaigns which highlight their investments

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<v Speaker 1>in renewables and paint natural gas as a clean, green fuel.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure you've seen these ads or heard them in

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<v Speaker 1>various podcasts in recent years. Here's a small sampling. Some

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<v Speaker 1>farms grow food, this one gross fuel. Doers need energy,

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<v Speaker 1>and demand for it is expected to grow.

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<v Speaker 2>America's natural gas and oil companies are successfully meeting the

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<v Speaker 2>demand for greater energy.

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<v Speaker 1>On natural gas can step in to keep the power

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<v Speaker 1>flowing and the lights shining. The biggest natural gas booster

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<v Speaker 1>by far in the last decade has been the America

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<v Speaker 1>Petroleum Minstitute API, which is not a named defendant in

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<v Speaker 1>the DC suit. However, the API is mentioned in the complaint.

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<v Speaker 1>The DC folks take the stance that the fossil fueld

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<v Speaker 1>companies fund and control the API, so they hold the

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<v Speaker 1>companies accountable for API's actions. This could all get pretty

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<v Speaker 1>interesting if either of these cases makes it past the

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<v Speaker 1>fossil fuel company's inevitable motion to dismiss these cases. If

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<v Speaker 1>these cases get into discovery, I suspect we will see

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<v Speaker 1>quite a bit more documentation of exactly who knew what

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<v Speaker 1>about climate change, when they knew it, and what they

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<v Speaker 1>did with that information. That's it for this time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening. We'll bring you updates on these and all

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<v Speaker 1>the other climate cases out there as they happen. You

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<v Speaker 1>can also read more details about both of these cases

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<v Speaker 1>and access the full complaints on our website drillednews dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to take a minute and thank our latest

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