U.S. court dismisses climate change lawsuits against top oil companies

[June 26, 2018]    (Reuters) - A California federal court dismissed climate change lawsuits against five oil companies by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, saying the complaints required foreign and domestic policy decisions that were outside the purview of courts, Chevron Corp <CVX.N> said on Monday.

Smoke is released into the sky at the ConocoPhillips oil refinery in San Pedro, California March 24, 2012. Picture taken March 24, 2012. REUTERS/Bret Hartman

The cities of San Francisco and Oakland, California sued Chevron, Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N>, ConocoPhillips <COP.N>, Royal Dutch Shell Plc <RDSa.L>, and BP Plc <BP.L> last year, seeking an abatement fund to help the cities address flooding they say is a result of climate change.

The dangers raised by the complainants are real and worldwide, and that both parties accepted the science behind global warming, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said in the ruling.

"(However), the problem deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a District Judge or jury in a public nuisance case," Judge Alsup said. http://bit.ly/2Irnpo4

A Shell spokeswoman said the company regards climate change to be a complex problem, which is not an issue for the courts but requires sound government policy.

BP did not have an immediate comment, while ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil were not available for comment outside regular business hours.

(Reporting by Philip George and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.