American Misti Leon filed a lawsuit against seven large oil and gas companies, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell, holding them to the death of her mother, Juliana Leon, during the extreme heat wave that hit the US in June 2021. The information is from The New York TImes.
Juliana died due to hyperthermia, with 43ºC internal body temperature, after being surprised by the intense heat caused by the phenomenon known as the “heat bubble”.
The lawsuit, filed at the Washington State Court, is considered the first in the United States to claim death from negligence directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions produced by fossil fuel companies.
The process accuses companies not to warn the public about the risks of climate change and to fund campaigns to discredit scientific consensus on global warming.
Misti Leon’s lawyer points out that the evidence points to a clear causal chain between oil companies and the tragedy suffered by the Leon family.
According to New York TimesExperts claim that the “heat bubble” that hit the region by 2021 would have been virtually impossible without human influence on climate.
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Estimates indicate that about 600 additional deaths occurred in Oregon and Washington during the event, highlighting the lethal impact of global warming.
Although the action is civil, it follows the logic of academic studies that suggest the possibility of criminal accountability of companies for climate -related deaths.
