The civil suit, filed in the state Superior Court in San Francisco, accuses the firms of covering up the environmental cost of fossil fuels and seeks the creation of a fund, supported by the companies, that would pay for recovery efforts after storms and wildfires, according to reporting by the Associated Press. Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP are named as plaintiffs.
“This ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers is nothing more than a distraction from important national conversations and an enormous waste of California taxpayer resources,” Ryan Meyers, the institute's senior vice president, said in a statement.