The new year is a perfect time to look forward; it’s also an opportunity to see how far we’ve come. Let’s review our 2024 progress toward a class-action lawsuit demanding that major polluters pay a fair share of climate costs.
Sue Big Oil: 2024 Recap
To launch the Sue Big Oil lawsuit, the campaign is seeking support from BC municipalities representing at least half a million residents combined. Municipalities that join the effort commit to working with other local governments to bring a class action lawsuit against global fossil fuel companies, and are asked to allocate $1 per resident to support the legal action.
Six municipalities joined Sue Big Oil in 2024: Burnaby, Cumberland, Port Moody, Qualicum Beach, Sechelt and Slocan. (Gibsons, Squamish and View Royal joined in 2023.)
Those nine municipalities represent around 380,000 people, so we are approximately ¾ of the way to our goal.
Several more municipalities are currently considering whether to join Sue Big Oil and we expect them to decide in the coming months. Keep your eyes open for news from Nelson, New West, North Cowichan, Pemberton, Rossland and Saanich.
Burnaby is on board but made its support conditional on at least one other large (population >150,000) municipality joining. The cities of that size in BC are Abbotsford, Coquitlam, Kelowna, Langley Township, Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver.
Some of these cities have experienced immense and costly climate change damage in recent years, and others are highly climate-vulnerable. They should clearly join Sue Big Oil to recoup a fair share of their climate costs. Sue Big Oil volunteers and staff are engaging with these communities to try to bring them on board.
Sue Big Oil Teams
Of course, the successes we’ve achieved were possible because of the amazing efforts of Sue Big Oil volunteer action teams operating in around 20 communities across the province.
The West Kootenay team achieved exciting progress in 2024, not only convincing Slocan to join Sue Big Oil, but also bringing delegations to Nelson and Rossland Councils. This team won’t rest – they are also bringing a delegation to the Regional District of Central Kootenay this week!
Sue Big Oil supporters and volunteers in Nelson. (Photo: Carlo Alcos)
The Sunshine Coast team also continued its impressive strides in 2024. Collecting Sue Big Oil Declaration signatures on street corners (and sometimes going door-to-door), they garnered over 2000 new supporters (from a relatively small population). After the Gibsons win in 2023, the team went on to convince Sechelt to join in 2024, and they are working on the Sunshine Coast Regional District too. Nearby, the qathet (Powell River) team did some great organizing in 2024 and despite some setbacks they aren’t giving up!
Sunshine Coast Sue Big Oil volunteers and supporters in Sechelt (Photo: Sunshine Coast Sue Big Oil)
We are thrilled to see the newest Sue Big Oil teams getting revved up in Abbotsford and Richmond. In their first couple months, the Richmond team got the Declaration translated into Cantonese and Mandarin (with help from the Burnaby team) and the Abbotsford team has launched its own Abby Fair Share website. (FYI, Mission and Sunshine Coast SBO teams have their own websites, too.) We are excited to see what the Richmond and Abbotsford teams will do next.
Lots going on in the Lower Mainland! Burnaby youth were pivotal in getting Burnaby’s pledge of support. And North Shore youth are helping out behind the scenes, too!
New Westminster volunteers brought a delegation in October and are eagerly awaiting Council’s decision. The Tri-Cities team was victorious in Port Moody and is now focusing on Coquitlam – they held a couple of public events in the fall. Meanwhile, Surrey Sue Big Oil achieved its goal of 1000 signatures and is engaging with Surrey Council, which recently requested a written report from West Coast Environmental Law and we are working on getting that submitted in the coming weeks.
Sue Big Oil supporters at New Westminster City Hall.
On Vancouver Island, the Comox Valley team successfully convinced Cumberland to come on board and is now setting its sights on Courtenay and the Regional District. The Qualicum Beach/Parksville team is looking to Parksville after its win in Qualicum Beach.
The newly formed Cowichan Valley team brought a delegation to North Cowichan council and is awaiting a staff report. (Saanich is in a similar position – except that the suggestion to sue Big Oil interestingly came from city staff!). The Capital Region team is planning a fun Sue Big Oil event for Groundhog Day and the Nanaimo team and Gulf Islands teams are also making strides.
Sue Big Oil's endorsing and partnering organizations
Over 40 organizations in BC have now endorsed Sue Big Oil and several are helping to build support in their communities.
Thank you: Stand.earth, Force of Nature Alliance, Sierra Club BC, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Wilderness Committee, Shake Up the Establishment, For Our Kids Burnaby, Dogwood, My Sea to Sky, Council of Canadians, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, West Coast Climate Action Network, Laudato Si’, Neighbours United, Georgia Strait Alliance, Peaceful Society Science and Innovation Foundation, Climate Emergency Unit, Sum of Us, Parents for Climate, Grandmothers Act to Save the Planet, Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, Divest Canada Coalition, Right On Canada, West Kootenay Climate Hub, Fraser Valley Climate Action, Sunshine Coast Conservation Association, Denman Island Climate Action Network, Nanaimo Climate Action Hub, UVic Environmental Law Club, TRU Environmental Law Club, Capilano Students Union, SFU 350, Fridays for Future qathet, Hornby Island Conservancy, Transition Salt Spring, Doctors and Nurses for Planetary Health (Kootenay Boundary), Wondrous Tree Fellowship, Burke Mountain Naturalists, Wildsight, Silva Forest Foundation, Denman Conservancy Association, BROKE and Mountain Protectors.
If you are involved with another organization that is not listed above, please invite them to endorse Sue Big Oil.
Fun stuff
Beautiful new Sue Big Oil flyers and postcards became available in 2024, thanks to the efforts of SBO volunteers Tyee and Kirsten. Contact info@suebigoil.ca to order yours.
Sue Big Oil has secured the rights to screen the PBS film “The Power of Big Oil,” which looks at the role of the oil industry in undermining climate science and delaying climate action. In 2024, SBO teams in Coquitlam and qathet (Powell River) held public film screenings. If you would like to screen the film in your community in 2025, please contact us at info@suebigoil.ca.
We participated in our first Instagram Live event in December – hosted by Lilly Woodbury from Surfrider Foundation in Tofino. You can check it out here.
Sue Big Oil also took part in climate strikes and other community events. Big thanks to Dogwood for helping us create some gorgeous new banners.
Sue Big Oil supporters carrying the banner at the 2024 Climate Strike in Vancouver.
Sue Big Oil in the news
Sue Big Oil was covered in approximately 50 media articles in 2024. Huge shout out to all the SBO volunteers who submitted opinion pieces and letters to the editor.
Check out a few of the media links below:
- In B.C., inflation threatens local government’s climate plans (Times Colonist)
- Slocan council votes to join proposed lawsuit against ‘Big Oil’ (Nelson Star)
- Growing B.C. effort wants fossil fuel companies to pay for climate impacts (Oak Bay News)
- Burnaby joins Sue Big Oil campaign, would commit $1 for every resident (Burnaby Now)
- Letter: Should Coquitlam sue big oil to address climate change costs? (Tri-City News)
- GUEST COLUMN: Surrey needs to join the Sue Big Oil movement (Surrey Now Leader)
- Cumberland votes to join class action against fossil fuel companies (Comox Valley Record)
- New West city council supports Sue Big Oil class action lawsuit motion (New Westminster Record)
- Why I wholeheartedly endorse the Sue Big Oil campaign (Squamish Reporter)
- Can Big Oil be made to pay like Big Tobacco? (CBA National Magazine)
And lastly, our team is growing! West Coast Environmental Law is hiring a senior climate communications specialist. This exciting full-time position will work on Sue Big Oil, as well as West Coast’s other climate work. If you think you’d be a great fit, or know someone else who would be, please apply and/or forward. The application deadline is January 20th.
Thanks for all your support. We look forward to collaborating with you in 2025 – and getting the Sue Big Oil lawsuit off the ground and into the courts.
Top photo: Collage of Sue Big Oil Action Teams and volunteers from events and delegations in 2024 (Graphic by Hanna Araza)