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Multnomah County, Oregon, has sued oil and gas companies for their role in the 2021 heat dome, claiming in a lawsuit filed Thursday that emissions from the companies played a significant role in causing the superheating event over several days. In late June and early July 2021.
The county, which includes the city of Portland, is seeking more than $51 billion in damages to pay costs associated with future extreme heat events as well as study, planning and “weatherproofing” against extreme heat.
The companies named in the suit include Exxon Mobil Corporation (New York Stock Exchange: XOM), chevron (New York Stock Exchange: CVX), Shell (SHEL), BP (BP), and ConocoPhillips (COP).
Chevron (CVX) said in a statement that the lawsuit, which makes “new and unsubstantiated allegations,” is unconstitutional and unfairly targets “a single industry and group of companies engaged in lawful activity that provides tremendous benefits to society.”
Temperatures during the 2021 Heat Dome event soared to a record shattering 116 degrees Fahrenheit, causing massive property damage and killing 69 people.
Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court refused to hear requests from Exxon (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and others to move litigations brought by state and local governments accusing oil companies of exacerbating climate change out of state and federal courts.