British Columbians are working together to hold the world’s fossil fuel polluters accountable for their role in causing climate harm to our communities. By doing so we can:
- ensure that taxpayers are not the only ones on the hook for the ever-rising costs of preparing for (and rebuilding from) the impacts of climate change;
- impact the global fossil fuel cartels that are contributing most to climate change, and their investors, giving them an incentive to move towards a more sustainable economy; and
- generate a conversation about the role of the fossil fuel economy in harming our communities.
How are we holding the fossil fuel industry accountable?
More than 55 organizations from across BC have asked our local governments to take action to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for local climate harm. Here’s what we’re asking for:
Step 1 – Demand accountability
A first step in demanding accountability is realizing that you're entitled to it. The hundreds of billions of dollars of profits that fossil fuel companies expect to make by developing their fossil fuel reserves are only possible if our communities – and others – pay for the inevitable consequences. A simple letter from a community reminding fossil fuel companies that there are consequences to their climate-destroying business model, and that they will need to pay their fair share, is a first step in shifting that conversation.
Step 2 – Class action
BC’s local governments are ideally placed to come together in a joint lawsuit to claim compensation for the costs of preparing for climate change. By filing a class action lawsuit in the BC Supreme Court, British Columbians can defend our communities and our global atmosphere, sending an international message to the world’s fossil fuel polluters.
Step 3 – Evaluate and plan for climate impacts
Understanding what our communities are losing from climate change is essential in demanding accountability. Our communities need to begin identifying how the climate crisis is harming us now and in years to come, so that we can hold the fossil fuel industry accountable. We then need to talk about the role of the fossil fuel economy – and the fossil fuel cartels – in causing that harm.
Three decades of climate negotiations have not helped the world avoid dangerous climate change. This is because there’s an almost complete disconnect between those who profit from the fossil fuel economy and those who suffer from it. As long as companies, investors and governments can make more money by ignoring climate change than by dealing with it, we will not be able to build a new, sustainable economy.
British Columbians can defend our communities by demanding that fossil fuel companies take responsibility for their fair share of the world’s climate-changing pollution.
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