For the first time, a natural gas company is facing a lawsuit from a local government over climate change. Oregon’s Multnomah County has taken legal action against NW Natural, adding the utility to its case against companies like Shell, Exxon, McKinsey, and others, accusing them of misleading customers about fossil fuels and their environmental impact. The lawsuit claims these companies, including the Koch and big oil-backed Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, conspired to promote their products while downplaying their role in climate degradation.
The lawsuit connects this alleged deception to the fatal “heat dome” event in the Pacific Northwest that broke temperatures into records and claimed at least 69 lives in Multnomah County. As stated by the county, the number of people who died in that heatwave exceeded the number of deaths from heat-related reasons across the whole state of Oregon in the span of two decades.
The reason this case sets precedent is the first instance a gas utility is named a defendant in a climate accountability lawsuit. To a great degree, the gas companies have managed to evade the legal spotlight on them for actions similar to the oil companies. As noted by Alyssa Johl, vice president at the Center for Climate Integrity, gas utilities are amongst those who have for long engaged in leading deceptive campaigns to defraud the public of the grave risks related to fossil fuels.
“Gas utilities have known for decades that their products fuel the climate crisis,” Johl stated, “yet they continue to deceptively market methane gas as a climate solution.” Methane, a primary component of natural gas, is far more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat, making it a significant driver of global warming.
Similar worries were expressed by environmental campaigner Dr. Melanie Plaut, who stated, “NW Natural has done everything it can to ensure we keep burning methane.” “Everything we burn we breathe.” However, NW Natural has refuted the claims, asserting that the county’s actions are an attempt to draw attention away from the case’s shortcomings.
Multnomah County’s case, in spite of the company’s denials, may establish a precedent for holding gas utilities responsible for their part in the climate catastrophe and indicate a change in the legal tactics employed against the fossil fuel sector.
