Survivors of climate disasters demand US inquiry into big oil’s ‘climate crimes’

Allen Myers grew up in Paradise, California, which for him is “sacred land”. At age 11, he sat beside his mother’s bedside as she passed away in his beloved family home. Years later, that house, along with 90% of the town, burned to the ground in the devastating 2018 Camp fire, which killed 85 people.

Today, he is demanding the fossil fuel industry be held accountable for its role in that deadly blaze and other climate disasters. Myers and 1,000 survivors of climate disasters signed a letter delivered in person to the US Department of Justice on Thursday, demanding federal investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s “climate crimes”.

“The Camp fire bore the fingerprints of the climate crisis,” said Myers, a board member of the local organization Regenerating Paradise. “The fossil fuel industry knows that what they’re doing is dangerous, and we have millions of people, not only in this country, but around the world, that are feeling the effects of the climate crisis.”

Related: ‘We should have better answers by now’: climate scientists baffled by unexpected pace of heating

The letter was organized by the environmental group Chesapeake Climate Action Network and consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.

“We have survived hurricanes, floods, extreme heat, fires and other hazards impacting our lives more frequently and with greater intensity due to climate change,” it reads. “While our stories and experiences are diverse, the fossil fuel industry’s misconduct is a consistent through-line.”

The missive was also signed by 9,000 Americans whose loved ones have survived climate disasters and cites evidence that big oil has known for decades about the dangers of their products and has sought to cover up that evidence.

“Instead of acting responsibly on their own scientists’ warnings, they waged a decades-long disinformation campaign to muddy the science and confuse and mislead the public,” it says.

The letter comes as part of a growing movement for climate accountability. Dozens of municipalities have filed civil lawsuits against the oil and gas industry for allegedly spreading climate disinformation, and some states are crafting legislation seeking to collect climate damages from big oil.

Last year, Public Citizen proposed filing criminal charges including homicide against oil majors – an idea that sparked interest among prosecutors. In May, climate victims and non-profit groups in France filed the world’s first-ever criminal climate lawsuit against big oil, but no such case has been filed in the US.

“Climate survivors and their allies have had enough and our message to the justice department is clear: prosecute the fossil fuel industry and make polluters pay,” said Clara Vondrich, senior policy counsel on climate at Public Citizen. “Survivors of climate crimes deserve justice no less than the victims of homicide, arson, assault and battery, armed robbery and other felonies.”

Another letter signatory, Roishetta Ozane, has survived hurricanes, fires, tornadoes and pollution on the US Gulf coast. In a statement, she said survivors were “tired of being resilient”.

“It is high time we hold these companies accountable for their actions and demand that they pay for the climate crimes they have committed,” said Ozane, who is also chief executive officer of the environmental justice group Vessel Project. “We must make polluters pay for the damage they have caused to our environment and communities. They’ve caused this mess and they need to pay to mitigate it.”