Michigan Lawsuit Calls Big Oil a “Cartel” That’s Driving High Energy Bills |
A gas flare from the Shell Chemical LP petroleum refinery in Norco, Louisiana. Drew Angerer/Getty
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Amid rising concern about global heating and soaring energy costs, Michigan has sued big oil for allegedly fueling both crises—a move experts have hailed as groundbreaking.
In a first-of-its-kind complaint, the state’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, accused four fossil fuel majors and the top US oil lobbying group last month of acting as a “cartel” to stifle the growth of renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs), while suppressing information about the dangers of the climate crisis. The conduct, the lawsuit alleged, violates federal and state antitrust laws.
The companies’ “collusion” drove up Michigan utility costs and slowed the transition away from gas-powered cars, according to the filing. Absent the industry’s efforts to repress clean technology, EVs “would be a common sight in every neighborhood—rolling off assembly lines in Flint, parked in driveways in Dearborn, charging outside grocery stores in Grand Rapids, and running quietly down Woodward Avenue,” it said.
“The Big Oil cartel conspired to deny Americans cleaner and cheaper energy choices and make life less affordable.”
Electricity costs in Michigan have surged, with average residential rates increasing by nearly 120 percent in the last two decades. And though electric car adoption........