County sues top oil companies for downplaying global warming

SEATTLE – King County is suing five major oil companies after it says the companies deliberately looked to downplay and discredit scientific warnings about the risks of global warning.

The Seattle Times reports the county, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, seeks financial compensation to help pay for the costs the county has and will spend on sea-level management and dealing with extreme weather and other effects of climate change.

The Superior Court lawsuit says BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell intentionally produced and marketed fossil fuels that the companies know will exacerbate global warming.

The Seattle Times reached out to the five companies named in the suit for comment and none of them responded.