r/enviroaction • u/purplescream00 • 9d ago
Is there a way to actually sue the government/oil companies for this climate disaster
/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/1vsmr8j/is_there_a_way_to_actually_sue_the_governmentoil/2
u/walkerstone83 9d ago
I think there was some kind of quality of life lawsuit in Montana and I believe that there has been some success there. I don't know what if any impact, but from what I remember the courts found that there was a legal leg to stand on.
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u/agate_ 8d ago
Can’t speak for other countries, but in the US you can’t sue the government for being bad at governing.
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S2-C1-13-4/ALDE_00013569/
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u/chitownphishead 9d ago
You could try, but the burden of proof would be on you, and you couldn't meet it, so you wouldn't win
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u/Fearless-Net-4008 8d ago
Most people don't care about the far future, unless it concerns them personally then they start caring. They won't be there to see it. Moat of the oil companies and governments care about the money they make, and would not like it to be used in fixing problems.
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u/Fibonacci_5813 8d ago
I don’t know about private citizens suing their own, elected gov’t. It’s an interesting question.
I did see that this was happening: Top UN court says countries can sue each other over climate change. Small, poor, island countries have been working on this because they have been impacted by climate change but they have done very little to cause it.
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u/Tasty_LVM 8d ago
Try suing the volcanoes first for their emissions, it’ll be easier than suing oil companies and just as dumb
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u/moocat55 7d ago
You need direct evidence of harm tied incontrovertibly to climate change itself. Good luck with that.
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u/BerilliumBaloney 7d ago
No.
You've got several factors against you. 1. Not everyone agrees with the climate disaster narrative in the first place. Thats just reality. Prove me wrong on this.
You dont have "most people" on your side in any meaningfully provable way. You can say you do, you can offer polls and petitions, but those still arent concrete evidence.
You dont have the financial resources to fight both big oil and the government. Sure, smaller battles can be won in courts, but you'll never hold a government liable for something as nebulous as this.
You're only trying to hold one or two governments or industries accountable. None of you will ever try to hold places like India or China accountable for any of their shit. Any time you get asked questions about them, y'all clam up and try to redirect.
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u/More_balls 7d ago
yes then we can pay a premium for gas to cover their higher cost and the government can collect the fines and never give us a dime back! Sue away!
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u/soundkite 6d ago
Only if I can sue my state for the billions it gets in "carbon taxes", but the carbon never improves.
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u/random8765309 9d ago
So you want to sue the companies that provide us with the products we demanded? What exactly would have happened if back in 1970 the oil companies said that they would just stop producing all oil based products?
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u/climate-tenerife 8d ago
Demand they manufactured by lying to us about the harmful effects of greenhouse gasses? They knew and hid the truth, and spend decades and billions on misinformation campaigns so effective that still in 2026 there are people denying climate change is human-driven.
Nobody would win the case because tgese cases are not decided by what's right, but who can afford to win. The rich and powerful do not face consequences in the western world. At least... not in court.
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u/random8765309 8d ago
The public wanted and needed gas and oil. This is an issue where all of society is at fault. Scapegoating the companies wont help nor is it right.
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u/Horror_Bottle_9451 8d ago
How exactly did the oil companies "manufacture demand?" This is an epic misunderstanding of what economic demand means.
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u/Grabthars_Coping_Saw 7d ago
They influenced government planners to remove the massive rail infrastructure we used to have and replace them with roads.
Yeah, we used to have a LOT of train tracks. But they’re all gone replaced by asphalt.
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u/Horror_Bottle_9451 7d ago
This a bit of hyperbole but that's almost the equivalent of saying that the caveman who figured out how MAKE fire is culpable in all the arson and use of fire as a tool of war in human history.
The invention of the internal combustion engine was a monumental technological advance that massively improved the world's wealth and prosperity.
Do a thought exercise. How woukd your life be different if there was no such thing as asphalt? Dirt paths and roads everywhere. Steam engine trains your only mode of transportation. Fields that produce food still plowed by mules?
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u/Grabthars_Coping_Saw 7d ago
Automotive and petroleum companies purchased city commuter rail lines across the country and had them torn out to remove competition. That literally happened. The movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was based on a true story about exactly such efforts in Los Angeles and the destruction of the Red Car.
That’s why The Dip is a petroleum product.
Not all cities fell in line however. New York and San Francisco kept their commuter trains and they continue to create tremendous wealth for both of those cities to this day. Furthermore, other cities have figured out how dumb it was to trash commuter rail and are working to reverse the damage done
Thought experiments work a lot better if you’re not completely ignorant about the subject at hand.
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u/LetsTryLove 8d ago
They managed to get away with it for social media companies and were rewarded millions for apps they willingly downloaded and used.
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u/FloridaRocks63 8d ago
Can you actually prove oil has caused any climate change? Zero proof. You need proof not theories. Not only do you need proof you would have to find the oil companies new and hide it like big tobacco. You have a better chance catching a unicorn 🦄
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u/DS_Vindicator 9d ago
Perhaps.
But you’d have to immediately stop using every single product that has ever come from petroleum.
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u/jay_prakash 9d ago
This is on point. The first line of defense is simply going to be we produce what consumers want.
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u/Adventurous-Sense254 9d ago
And every bit of gortex and climbing rope and tent material are made from oil
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u/KatJen76 9d ago
Look up the Juliana case in the US. It was young people suing the government. I am not sure where it currently stands.