The California lawsuit claims oil giants lied about climate change and wants money for causing

According to officials, the state of California filed a lawsuit against some of the biggest oil and gas firms in the world, alleging that they misled the public about the dangers of fossil fuels and are now to blame for storms and wildfires linked to climate change that have cost billions of dollars in damage.

The legal complaint, which was filed in state Superior Court in San Francisco, also calls for the establishment of a fund, funded by the businesses, to cover the costs of recovery after disastrous storms and fires. Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP were named in the case, and Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that they should be held accountable.

"Big Oil has been lying to us for more than 50 years, hiding the fact that they've known for a long time how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet," stated Newsom. The taxpayers of California shouldn't be forced to pay for billions of dollars' worth of damages, including those caused by wildfires that destroyed entire neighborhoods, toxic smoke that polluted the air, lethal heat waves, and record-breaking droughts that dried up our wells.

A business organization also involved in the case, the American Petroleum Institute, asserted that Congress, not a courtroom, should be the forum for discussion on climate policy.

The legal action brought by California joins others brought in recent years by states and localities.

The firms "have fed us lies and mistruths to further their record-breaking profits at the expense of our environment," according to state attorney general Rob Bonta. There has been enough.

False advertising, harm to natural resources, and illegal business practices for misleading the public about climate change are some of the accusations made in the case against the firms for allegedly causing or contributing to climate change in California.

The modern environmental movement was founded in heavily Democratic California, where the Newsom administration is working to promote the growth of solar energy and other clean energy as the state works to reduce emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Newsom has not always agreed with the environmental activism wing, despite the fact that the state is seen as a pioneer in combating climate change.