Hoboken Files Lawsuit Against Oil Companies Over Climate Change

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced Wednesday that — a month after the low-lying city suffered two flooding events that theoretically should have occurred once in 50 years – the city has filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil and other major oil companies to garner funds to fight the results of climate change.

After the city suffered its second bout of flooding in July, Bhalla said in a letter that the increasing frequency of severe storms is partly attributed to climate change over the years, something federal scientists also have said. They have linked burning fossil fuels like oil and coal to global warming.

READ MORE: Hoboken Floods From Second "50-Year Storm" In Two Weeks.

At the press conference Wednesday morning, Bhalla referred to a news story last year about coastal communities that could be under water in 50 years. “The precise reason filing this action is to get off this list," he said.

The mile-square city of Hoboken, with 53,000 residents, is located directly across the Hudson River from Midtown Manhattan.

"Big Oil companies have caused substantial harm to the public in Hoboken and New Jersey by actively lying about the detrimental effects of their products when in fact their own research indicated otherwise," the city said in a press release Wednesday afternoon, "... directly resulting in adverse impacts in Hoboken including rising sea levels that jeopardize the long-term health of the city."

“As a coastal community, Hoboken has directly felt the impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels and more frequent storms,” said Bhalla. “At the same time we’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars adapting to the realities of climate change, Big Oil companies have engaged in a decades long campaign of misinformation that has contributed to global warming which has disproportionately impacted our residents.”

The litigation comes at no expense to the city of Hoboken or taxpayers, Bhalla said.

At the press conference, one reporter pointed out that some have complained that recent problems are due to too much construction in the mile-square city, and noted frequent water main breaks in the century-old water system.

“They’re two separate issues,” he said. “The issue of climate change and the complaint can speak for themselves.”

The lawsuit starts off with the words, "Defendants have tried to deceive the world for decades."

The lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Shell, Conoco, Chevron, Phillips66, and American Petroleum Institute can be found here.

The lawsuit also makes reference to racial issues, saying, "Like in other cities, the effects of climate change caused by Big Oil companies have had greater impacts on low-income communities and communities of color. In Hoboken, the Hoboken Housing Authority (HHA) suffered millions of dollars of damage due to Superstorm Sandy, some impacts of which are still felt today."

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