Perched on the edge of the Providence River, Shell Oil’s storage facility is a disaster waiting to happen. Built on filled land at sea level, the facility sits directly in harm’s way as climate change impacts worsen.
Despite knowing these risks, Shell Oil has failed to prepare its facility for climate change.
CLF’s Case against Shell Oil Holds the Industry Giant Accountable
That’s why CLF sued the oil giant in 2017. Our goal: to force Shell to clean up its pollution and protect our communities from climate change impacts. It’s one of several cases in our fight to hold Big Oil accountable.
For four years now, Shell has tried to get our case thrown out of court. Yet our arguments have prevailed again and again. Why? Because CLF has followed the truth. Every day that passes without resolution of this lawsuit is another day that Shell pollutes Narraganset Bay. And it’s another day that Shell puts the communities surrounding its oil terminal at risk.
Narraganset Bay and the Port of Providence already feel the effects of climate change. It is vital to protect these areas of incredible historical and ecological significance for generations to come. The environmental justice communities living around the Port already face burdens from the public health and economic impacts of pollution and climate change.
Shell Oil Predicted Climate Change, But Did Nothing to Prepare Its Facilities
CLF’s case against Shell has now moved into “active discovery.” That’s the legal process of mutual information sharing between us and the oil company. We are forcing the corporate polluter to provide key information it has shielded from the public for years. This information shows how Shell knew of the risks of climate change. However, it has done nothing to equip its terminal for the effects of extreme weather events, sea level rise, or increased precipitation, all of which are expected to worsen in the coming years. (Shell is hardly alone – Exxon also knew about climate change for decades. Instead of taking action to curb its effects, the oil giant fueled a campaign to sow doubt about climate science.)
CLF’s legal experts will continue to fight for the protection of Narraganset Bay and the people of Providence.
