'The Law Is Clear': NY Officials Back Memo Outlining Criminal Charges for Big Oil

Several New York City and state elected officials endorsed a memo published Thursday outlining how New York City prosecutors could charge major fossil fuel companies and their CEOs with reckless endangerment for knowingly contributing to the climate crisis that has worsened deadly, destructive storms like Sandy and Ida.

The memo, published by Public Citizen and Fair and Just Prosecution, argues that the reckless endangerment case against Big Oil is strong enough for New York prosecutors to launch an investigation.

"Big Oil's conduct was not just immoral. It was criminal," Aaron Regunberg, the senior policy counsel with Public Citizen's Climate Program, said in a statement. "Reckless endangerment occurs when someone engages in reckless conduct that risks injuring or killing another person. That's exactly what these companies and their CEOs have done by knowingly creating the climate crisis that is causing extreme—and extremely dangerous—weather events."

"The findings in this memo are clear—fossil fuel companies have knowingly put New Yorkers' lives at risk."

2021's Hurricane Ida, for example, damaged 3.3% of the buildings in New York City and killed more than a dozen people when it dumped nine inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Nearly a decade earlier, Superstorm Sandy killed 44 city residents, damaged nearly 70,000 residential buildings, and temporarily displaced thousands.

"Hurricane Sandy destroyed my home," said Rachel Rivera of New York Communities for Change. "My family deserves justice. That disaster didn't just happen—it was done to us by oil and gas companies. They made trillions of dollars, while we lost so much."

The memo names as possible defendants ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Occidental, BHP, and Peabody and possibly some of their CEOs. These companies have emitted 15.37% of all industrial-era climate pollution since 1965, the year the industry became "unquestionably aware" that oil, gas, and coal were heating the planet. Even earlier, at a 100th birthday bash for the U.S. oil industry in 1959, Edward Teller warned the guests that a 10% increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide could raise temperatures enough to "submerge New York."

Yet the fossil fuel industry and its leaders have continued to pump climate-warming products and spread misinformation about the harm they cause, delaying action that could have prevented or mitigated storms like Sandy and Ida.

"If I committed a crime like that against a corporation, you can bet I'd get prosecuted," Rivera said. "So why shouldn't they be held accountable? Isn't that why we have a criminal justice system?"

Amy Fettig, co-executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, said that charging the fossil fuel majors would mark an important reevaluation of the meaning of public safety.

"We are spending millions of dollars and using violent force to target minor crimes like fare evasion, while Big Oil corporations and their billionaire CEOs continue to accelerate a climate crisis that is actively putting residents in real, concrete danger," Fettig said.

Several New York elected officials have embraced this strategy. The memo earned statements of support from New York State Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, New York State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse, and New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa.

"We rarely include corporate crimes in our 'tough on crime' rhetoric and public safety strategies, but that's the crime truly threatening our communities," Gallagher said. "Because of Big Oil, so-called 'one-in-1,000 year' storms are becoming regular occurrences, and these dangers are only getting worse. These companies are endangering my constituents, and I believe New York prosecutors should act accordingly."

Reynoso added, "The findings in this memo are clear—fossil fuel companies have knowingly put New Yorkers' lives at risk."

He continued: "By willfully ignoring and concealing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their products, these corporations have contributed to a dramatic uptick in extreme weather events, which hit Brooklyn's most vulnerable populations the hardest. This is more than an environmental issue, it is a matter of public safety and equity across our borough, and those responsible for perpetuating the climate crisis in the pursuit of profit should be held accountable."

Jamie Henn of Fossil Free Media welcomed the state and city leaders' words.

"WHOA! New York officials are calling for Big Oil to be 'criminally prosecuted' for climate disasters," Henn wrote on social media. "They say the oil companies have engaged in 'reckless endangerment' by fueling and lying about the climate crisis. It's time to #MakePollutersPay."

The latest memo is part of a broader movement to hold the fossil fuel industry legally accountable for climate harms. Henn is also advocating for legislation that would make planet-warming companies pay into a fund for disaster relief and climate adaptation. Vermont became the first state to pass such a Climate Superfund Act in May, and a similar effort in New York is awaiting the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Public Citizen is also developing a wider strategy for holding the fossil fuel industry accountable. In an earlier memo, the watchdog group outlined how local and state authorities might charge oil, gas, and coal companies with "climate homicides."

"We're building the case for criminal prosecution of Big Oil brick by brick," Public Citizen climate counsel Clara Vondrich wrote on social media of the latest effort. "Here is the first 'prosecution memo' that lays out the case for filing, and winning, criminal charges for 'reckless endangerment.' The law is clear. Barriers are only political."

While Thursday's memo focuses on New York, Public Citizen said it could be relevant to any localities that experience climate disasters and have reckless endangerment statutes on the books.

"This discussion is the starting point for any prosecutor who wants to build a case to protect their constituents from climate harms that are threatening public safety in communities across the country," the memo authors wrote.