Earthrights Int'l
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</div><div>=</div><div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4 23 email drilled</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>on Monday this week the Supreme Court finally weighed in on whether it would take up the jurisdictional argument that oil companies are making in multiple climate liability suits.</b> The companies have been arguing for the past five years that these cases, brought on behalf of municipalities and states, are asking state courts for judgements that would impact federal policy and thus belong in state court. Attorneys representing state and local arguments have argued that their cases—which claim that oil companies' delay tactics on climate increased the cost of adaptation and thus the companies are liable for a portion of those costs—were appropriately filed in state court. Every circuit court has agreed, as has the Department of Justice, and now the Supreme Court as well.</font></p><blockquote style="margin: 2em 0px; padding: 0px 25px; border-left: 2px solid rgb(1, 0, 0); line-height: 1.6em; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"The companies' history of climate, deception, and misinformation, coupled with their unchecked fossil fuel production promotion, and so on, it makes them liable for at least some of the costs that these communities face, so that these costs don't fall entirely on the taxpayers." — Marco Simons, </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">EarthRights International, </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">attorney representing Boulder and other Colorado municipalities against oil companies.</span></font></p></blockquote><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="100%" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 0px; margin: 0px auto 1.5em; border: 1px solid rgb(229, 239, 245); border-collapse: collapse; width: 560px; border-radius: 3px;"><tbody><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px;"><td valign="top" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="100%" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 558.4px;"><tbody><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px;"><td width="60" valign="top" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: top;">[audio]</td><td valign="center" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px;"><a href="https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m=bf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m%3Dbf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de&source=gmail&ust=1682873162973000&usg=AOvVaw1uRgXPsH1qpkPsSdF2cYKM" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; display: block;" /><a href="https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m=bf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m%3Dbf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de&source=gmail&ust=1682873162973000&usg=AOvVaw1uRgXPsH1qpkPsSdF2cYKM" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; display: block;" /><a href="https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m=bf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m%3Dbf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de&source=gmail&ust=1682873162973000&usg=AOvVaw1uRgXPsH1qpkPsSdF2cYKM" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; display: block;" /><a href="https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m=bf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m%3Dbf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de&source=gmail&ust=1682873162973000&usg=AOvVaw1uRgXPsH1qpkPsSdF2cYKM" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; display: block;" /><a href="https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m=bf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.drilledpodcast.com/r/f275a8ce?m%3Dbf6fa0ec-1090-4b3f-b920-7e98d9adb3de&source=gmail&ust=1682873162973000&usg=AOvVaw1uRgXPsH1qpkPsSdF2cYKM" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; display: block;" /><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="100%" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 478.4px;"><tbody /></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center; padding-top: 5px; line-height: 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Suncor, a Canadian company whose U.S. subsidiary is headquartered in Colorado, is a defendant in the Boulder climate case. </font></div></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It's big news, but what will it mean for these cases? Some of them, including Boulder, which was the case invoked in the initial petition to the Supreme Court, will go back to arguing against other motion-to-dismiss arguments in state court. But others, starting with Hawaii, will move towards trial and that's a really big deal because it means some of these cases will get into the phase of litigation oil companies have been trying their hardest to avoid: discovery. In civil cases, the discovery phase is when companies will be asked to hand over documents and make their executives available for depositions. The evidence gathered during discovery in these cases could spell trouble for the oil company defendants in multiple other cases, including ongoing fraud suits in Massachusetts and Minnesota, a </span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">RICO, or racketeering, case filed on behalf of Puerto Rican municipalities</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and even international cases given that the majority of these companies operate globally.</span></font></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 2em 0px; padding: 0px 25px; border-left: 2px solid rgb(1, 0, 0); line-height: 1.6em; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"At this point, we're optimistic about moving forward and securing justice for our clients, who have been facing significant harms and costs due to the climate crisis while the oil companies, of course, continue to profit from their deception and misinformation." —Marco Simons, EarthRights International</font></p></blockquote><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[audio]</span>
<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But of course, oil majors have not put all their eggs in the jurisdictional basket. As I've been writing about for years now, one of the key arguments </span><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">they're making in these cases is a </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">First Amendment</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> argument. In broad strokes, the argument goes like this: anything they've ever said about climate was in the interest of shaping policy, which makes it political speech (or "petitioning speech" in legalese), and therefore protected. It was clear this was going to be the driving force of these cases when the oil company defendants appointed</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> Chevron's attorney, Ted Boutrous with Gibson Dunn, as their spokesperson across the board. Boutrous is a renowned First Amendment attorney, and Gibson Dunn is the firm that brought and won the most famous corporate free speech in the country's history: Citizens United</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> And now, even as the broader jurisdictional argument seems to be dead in the water, oil companies have formulated another one: the First Amendment question in these cases is foundational, and is not something that state courts should be weighing in on.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That argument has already been briefed in multiple cases, and it's only a matter of time before it makes its way to the most pro-corporate Supreme Court this country has had in decades...maybe ever. In the meantime, cases will move forward, and it's possible that so many cases moving into discovery will prompt discussion of a tobacco-style settlement. But I wouldn't go counting those chickens just yet.</font></p></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p></div></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">fake paper CoC ILR:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><a href="https://flarecord.com/stories/512480648-fort-lauderdale-says-it-has-no-intention-of-filing-suit-against-fossil-fuel-companies-over-climate-change"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://flarecord.com/stories/512480648-fort-lauderdale-says-it-has-no-intention-of-filing-suit-against-fossil-fuel-companies-over-climate-change</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div class="text-gray-3 fz-15" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); outline: none !important;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; outline: none !important;"><a class="strong text-gray-2" href="https://flarecord.com/author/john-breslin" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; outline: none !important; text-decoration-line: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Breslin</font></a></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;"><a class="text-gray-2" href="https://flarecord.com/stories/2019/may" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; outline: none !important; text-decoration-line: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><b>May 6, 2019</b></font></a></div></div><div class="fz-18 my-2 fw-400 story-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important; margin-top: 0.5rem !important; margin-bottom: 0.5rem !important;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FORT LAUDERDALE - Efforts by environmental groups to encourage Florida cities and counties to sue fossil fuel companies appear to be foundering as one city lobbied says it has no intention of filing one.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Municipalities, counties, and even states have filed suits against oil and gas companies, including giants such as Exxon, claiming the companies knew that burning fossil fuels contributed to damaging climate change, but concealed the information.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Last October, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission heard from </span><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Earthrights International (ERI)</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, a Washington D.C.-based environmental advocacy group involved in a number of similar suits in various parts of the country.</span></b></font></p><p class="entry-img-desc entry-img-float float-left mr-3" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 1rem; max-width: 380px; outline: none !important; float: left !important; margin-right: 1rem !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;" /><small class="img max-300" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 300px; line-height: 16px; outline: none !important;">Seth Platt, a lobbyist with LSN Partners.</small></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ERI <b>appears</b> to have worked with other groups in pushing cities in Florida to file suits, according to emails obtained by the <em style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;">Florida Record.</em> One of those groups, the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), was represented by Miami Beach lobbyist, Seth Platt, of LSN Partners.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Representatives attempted to persuade the commission to file suit, arguing that fossil fuel companies should be liable for the cost to the municipality to combat the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels. It has not worked, yet.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We have no intention of filing a lawsuit," Alain E. Boileau, city attorney, told the <em style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;">Florida Record</em> after the city was asked for an update following last October's presentation.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other government entities in south Florida were reported to be in contact with the environmental organizations, including Miami-Dade County</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But a spokesperson for Mayor Carlos Gimenez told the <em style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;">Florida Record</em>: “We’ve checked with the county attorney’s office, and there has been no discussion regarding any such lawsuits."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Another reported target was the City of Miami Beach. </b>In a brief statement to the <em style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;">Florida Record,</em> city spokesperson, Melissa Berthier, said, "Regrettably, the City of Miami Beach is disinclined to discuss this subject matter."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed across the country, from California, to Colorado, to New York City. Most are filed by coastal municipalities.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But, in one consequential decision, a suit filed by San Francisco and Oakland arguing under public nuisance laws was dismissed by a federal court in California.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Judge William Alsup, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, found that the issue of climate change “deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a district judge or jury in a public nuisance case." An appeal was filed.</b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some of the suits involved ERI, which promises to help organize legal action at no cost to a municipality. The group managed to secure a hearing before the Fort Lauderdale City Commission last October.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ERI program director Marco Simons, told the commissioners the suits “primarily seek reimbursement for some of the costs of adapting to climate change and its impacts - which likely requires billions of dollars for Fort Lauderdale.”</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It is that the fossil fuel industry, for years, pursued a strategy of reckless production while knowing that it would result in serious climate impacts - and both concealing and misleading the public about that knowledge,” Simons said.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emails were sent earlier in the year to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and his chief of staff, Scott Wyman, referring to upcoming meetings.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One sent in June was from lobbyist Platt, who stated his client was IGSD.<b> One of its projects, the Center for Climate Integrity, is headed by Richard Wiles, who also publishes Climate Liability News (CLN).</b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Climate Integrity's "central goal is to accelerate corporate and governmental policy changes that speed the energy transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources and that otherwise contribute to a safe climate," according to the IGSD. "One way to advance this goal is to require fossil fuel producers to bear the cost of the damage caused by their products."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Platt, in an email June 2018, referring to an upcoming meeting, stated his client was trying to collaborate with an organization called the Environmental Research Institute and an individual, Jorge Mursuli, whom he said was working with the City of Miami to file a lawsuit against the fossil fuel companies.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I have invited Jorge Mursuli to the meeting," Platt wrote in the email, which also contained a run down of relevant information, including ongoing cases and a survey of Florida residents, which he wrote "overwhelmingly support making polluters pay."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The second email, from Mursuli to the mayor, with Wyman and Platt cc'd, was sent in the middle of July and also referred to an upcoming meeting. Mursuli made clear that ERI "(not Environmental Research Institute) was leading the efforts to explore the possibility of litigation."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He added that "it makes sense that our lead counsel at Earthrights comes see you and your team to best discuss potential strategy."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Platt is registered as a lobbyist in Fort Lauderdale for IGSD, but not ERI. He did not reply to several messages asking for comment. </font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Large, of the Florida Justice Reform Institute said many want to blame a problem on a "company with deep pockets."</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: none !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"An essential element of every tort case is ‘causation',” Large told the <em style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none !important;">Florida Record</em>. "There is no evidence that fossil fuel companies ‘caused’ climate change. As such, these type of lawsuits lack merit."</font></p></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</div><div>=</div><div>CIC</div><div><header class="entry-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; margin-bottom: 22.7396px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(225, 225, 225); padding-bottom: 22.7396px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; line-height: 1.1; position: relative; z-index: 5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Western Energy Alliance</font></h1></header><div class="entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.westernenergyalliance.org/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;">Western Energy Alliance</a> (WEA) is a non-profit trade association that represents oil and gas companies that are from or work in the western US. WEA focuses many of its efforts on supporting legislation for hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas extraction method, also known as fracking.</font></p><h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 34.1042px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; line-height: 1.2;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FTI Consulting</font></h2><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.fticonsulting.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;">FTI Consulting</a> has been listed as a contractor on WEA’s 990s starting in 2017, earning a total of $460k since. FTI is a large consulting firm that <a href="https://www.fticonsulting.com/about" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;">describes itself</a> as “an independent global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In early 2019, </span><a href="https://www.climatedocket.com/2019/01/21/exxon-reps-climate-lawsuit-colorado-earthrights/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;">some of the work FTI had been doing for WEA made headlines</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> when FTI employees were accused of misrepresenting themselves as journalists while working at </span><a href="https://westernwire.net/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;">Western Wire</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, a news outlet that is</span><a href="https://westernwire.net/about/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;"> run by WEA</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> The environmental legal organization EarthRights recorded and released audio of FTI strategist Matt Dempsey seeking an interview for Western Wire with EarthRights’ general council. At the time, EarthRights was representing the city and county of Boulder, Colorado and the County of San Miguel, California in a lawsuit where the local communities sought climate damages from Exxon, a<a href="https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/About-us/Policy/Political-contributions-and-lobbying" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;"> WEA member</a>.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">During the phone conversation, after questioning from EarthRight’s general council Marco Simons, Dempsey revealed that Western Wire’s staff consisted of primarily FTI employees, which were funded by their contract with WEA. This relationship is confirmed on <a href="https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20431638-western-energy-alliance-wea-2018-990#document/p8/a2017121" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s;">WEA’s 2018 990</a>, where the purpose of FTI’s contract was stated as “Western Wire.” </font></p></div></div><div>=</div><div><p><a href="https://legalnewsline.com/stories/511398628-in-suing-exxon-over-climate-change-boulder-is-hoping-company-s-deep-pockets-will-pay-for-its-left-wing-agenda-group-says"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://legalnewsline.com/stories/511398628-in-suing-exxon-over-climate-change-boulder-is-hoping-company-s-deep-pockets-will-pay-for-its-left-wing-agenda-group-says</font></a></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BOULDER, Colo. (Legal Newsline) <b>– It remains to be seen if Exxon will fight the latest climate change lawsuit against it in the same way it is attacking the first round, by scrubbing municipal documents for evidence of hypocrisy by the public officials filing them.</b></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">According to a conservative group following the case, mounting such a defense might be overkill. <b>The lawsuit filed by Boulder, Colo., and two Colorado counties is so frivolous, Exxon</b> could end up seeking reimbursement for the costs of defending itself, according to <a href="https://www.mountainstateslegal.org/about/about-mslf#.WuCyO8gvz4Z" class="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; font-weight: bold;">Mountain States Legal Foundation</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>William Perry Pendley, president of MSLF</b>, says he isn't surprised that politicians in Boulder are going through Exxon's deep pockets "to pay for their costly, radical, left-wing boondoggles."</font></p><div class="story-adtag float-left mr-3 mb-3" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left !important; margin-right: 1rem !important; margin-bottom: 1rem !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"But taxpayers who think at least they will not have to pay for this pricey misadventure and might even get some tax relief if it is successful, should think again," Pendley said. </font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"This lawsuit could not be more frivolous and if the judges do what other judges have done, legal sanctions and hefty fines will be imposed."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To defend itself from the California lawsuit, Exxon is seeking to depose government officials and a private lawyer <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalnewsline/2018/01/08/exxon-prepares-to-sue-california-cities-say-they-contradict-themselves-on-climate-change/1" class="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; font-weight: bold;">in Texas court</a> over whether their allegations of impending climate change-caused doom are contradicted by bond offerings that make no mention of it.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Asked if Boulder ever disclosed climate change-related threats to its property in any bond offerings, the City declined to comment.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It's unclear whether the bond argument is a possible defense for Exxon in Colorado, and the company did not return a request for comment.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As for Boulder, which filed its lawsuit with Boulder and San Miguel counties, its <a href="https://emma.msrb.org/IssuerView/IssuerDetails.aspx?cusip=101421" class="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; font-weight: bold;">most recent </a>official statement does not include references to climate change.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The official statement on <a href="https://emma.msrb.org/EA642337-EA502399-EA898709.pdf" class="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; font-weight: bold;">acquisitions of land</a> does not contain the terms “climate change,” “weather” or “global warming.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Pendley said there is no science to support the lawsuit. Judges in the California lawsuits have yet to rule on motions to dismiss filed by the energy industry.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"Causation between the alleged inactions of the companies and the imagined harms is missing in its entirety and the demand that whimsical injuries be redressed (‘Help us pay to paint our streets white,’ one imagines) is laughable," Pendley said.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Addressing the bond topic last week was </font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">David Bookbinder of the Niskanen Center,</font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> which is one of two nonprofits representing Boulder on a pro bono basis. A third firm is taking as much as a 20% contingency fee, according to Boulder County's website.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Bookbinder was a speaker at an <a href="http://www.aei.org/events/what-did-they-know-and-when-did-they-know-it-the-municipal-climate-litigation-the-fossil-fuel-industry-and-the-municipal-bond-market/" class="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation;">American Enterprise Institute discussion</a> of California climate litigation the same day his lawsuit was being filed in a Colorado state court. He used an expletive to describe Exxon’s strategy and said that he was “ashamed” of the law firm representing the company.</b></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“If we needed more evidence that no one thinks this was improper or fraudulent or disingenuous, my former adversaries in the plaintiffs securities bar – those people are extremely aggressive. The time lapse between bad news coming out and lawsuits filed by what were called the <b>‘strike bar’ </b>could be measured in, you know, one day, 48 hours, 72 hours, maybe four days – 96 hours,” Bookbinder said.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“There have been no lawsuits filed against any of these cities for their bond disclosures. That should tell you something as well.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2017, the counties of Marin, Santa Cruz and San Mateo and the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz and Imperial Beach filed suit against dozens of energy companies, including Exxon and 17 other Texas-based businesses, over climate change. The company has previously been targeted by the attorneys general of Massachusetts and New York.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“It is reasonable to infer that the municipalities brought these lawsuits not because of a bona fide belief in any tortious conduct by the defendants or actual damage to their jurisdictions, but instead to coerce ExxonMobil and others operating in the Texas energy sector to adopt policies aligned with those favored by local politicians in California,” attorneys for the company wrote.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In doing so, they must have lied to potential investors in their respective bond offerings, the company claims.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Statements made to potential investors contradict allegations made by the municipalities when they sued the energy industry, the filing says.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For example, San Mateo County’s complaint says it is “particularly vulnerable to sea level rise” and that there is a 93% chance the county experiences a “devastating” flood before 2050. However, bond offerings in 2014 and 2016 noted that the county “is unable to predict whether sea-level rise or other impacts of climate change or flooding from a major storm will occur."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bookbinder noted that the offerings came with a statement regarding a final paper from the California Climate Change Center that said property in San Francisco Bay is vulnerable to impacts associated with sea-level rise.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But the cities did not present an opinion on the accuracy of those claims, which was noted by <a href="https://cei.org/content/devin-watkins" class="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; font-weight: bold;">Devin Watkins</a>, an attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who attended the event.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The CEI has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to <a href="https://legalnewsline.com/stories/511327528-sec-asked-to-investigate-potential-fraud-in-california-bond-offerings-over-climate-change-risk" class="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation;">investigate the matter</a>.</b></font></p></div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div>climate invest</div><div>
</div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">climATE INVEST</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><b style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">Matt Dempsey, a Managing Director at FTI</b><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">, manages Energy in Depth and lists himself as an editorial editor WesternWire, another front group run for Western Energy Alliance, another oil trade association like IPAA</span></span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">. Dempsey and a colleague were recently recorded by a lawyer for EarthRights International who called them out for being agents of Exxon, and pretending to be journalists. <b>Exxon is a defendant in the Boulder Colorado lawsuit that EID and WesternWire have tried hard to malign. Dempsey used to work for Senator James Inhofe.</b></span></div><div><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></p><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dempsey</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, a Managing Director at FTI, manages Energy in Depth and lists himself as an editorial editor </span><a href="https://westernwire.net/about/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">WesternWire</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, another front group run for Western Energy Alliance, another oil trade association like IPAA. Dempsey and a colleague were </span><a href="https://earthrights.org/media/exxon-sends-undisclosed-agents-to-question-opposing-counsel-about-colorado-climate-litigation/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.07s ease-in-out 0s; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">recently recorded by a lawyer for EarthRights International</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> who called them out for being agents of Exxon, and pretending to be journalists. Exxon is a defendant in the Boulder Colorado lawsuit that EID and WesternWire have tried hard to malign. Dempsey used to work for Senator James Inhofe</span></font></div><div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ref</font></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://earthrights.org/media/exxon-sends-undisclosed-agents-to-question-opposing-counsel-about-colorado-climate-litigation/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://earthrights.org/media/exxon-sends-undisclosed-agents-to-question-opposing-counsel-about-colorado-climate-litigation/</font></a></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[audio]</font></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">Valentina Stackl<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />valentina@earthrights.org<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">(202) 466 5188 x100</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">January 15, 2019. Washington, D.C. — Exxon-sponsored consultants posing as journalists attempted to question EarthRights International (ERI) General Counsel Marco Simons, who represents three Colorado communities in climate change litigation against the oil giant, over email and in a recorded phone call </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">yesterday.</span></font></p></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[transcript]</font></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Western Wire” describes itself as “the go-to source for news, commentary and analysis on pro-growth, pro-development policies across the West,” but is staffed by a public relations firm under a contract to the Western Energy Alliance (WEA), a secretive oil and gas association. They were established in 2017 and publish stories that portray the climate lawsuits as a “conspiracy.” WEA does not disclose its members – but its board includes an Exxon executive, Greg Pulliam.</font></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Boulder County, San Miguel County, and the City of Boulder sued Exxon and Suncor last year for their role in contributing to climate change harms, and ERI represents the communities in court. Because legal ethics rules prohibit attorneys from talking with agents of opposing parties without their attorneys present, Simons refused to talk with the Western Wire staff “if you’re representatives of Exxon in any way.” While the Western Wire staff said they did not know the members of WEA – the organization that sponsors them – they did not dispute that they were representatives of Exxon.</font></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Western Wire staff involved are Michael Sandoval and Matt Dempsey, listed as Western Wire’s “Managing Editor” and “Opinion Editor,” respectively. Neither, however, is a journalist. Dempsey is listed on the website of FTI Consulting as a Managing Director of Strategic Communications. Sandoval’s name is not listed on FTI’s website, but his LinkedIn page lists him as a Director of Strategic Communications at FTI, and he was reached through FTI’s general phone number. In fact, Sandoval confirmed that Western Wire was staffed by employees of FTI Consulting under a contract to WEA.</font></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The call was recorded with the consent of both sides; here is a full <a href="https://earthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Transcript-of-EarthRights-International-call-with-Western-Wire.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 700; outline: 0px;">transcript</a> and a <a href="https://earthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/westernwire.mp3" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 700; outline: 0px;">recording</a>.</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Western Wire is not the only fossil fuel company front group. ERI has produced a <a href="https://earthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Climate-Change-Factsheet.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 700; outline: 0px;">fact sheet</a> on several industry initiatives to present misleading information.</font></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Colorado climate litigation is still in the early stages. Suncor and Exxon moved the case to federal court, and the plaintiffs are now seeking to return the case to Colorado state court, where it was initially filed. Several other cities, counties and states across the country have filed similar climate accountability lawsuits in the past year and a half. ERI is joined in representing the plaintiffs by David Bookbinder, Chief Legal Counsel of the Niskanen Center, and Kevin Hannon of the Hannon Law Firm LLC.</font></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For more information about the Colorado climate accountability lawsuit and these communities’ efforts to fight climate change, please see:</font></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">From ERI: </span><a href="https://earthrights.org/case/climate-change-litigation-colorado/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 700; outline: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; font-weight: 400;">https://earthrights.org/case/climate-change-litigation-colorado/</span></a></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">From Boulder County: </span><a href="https://www.bouldercounty.org/environment/sustainability/climate-change-2/climate-accountability/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 700; outline: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; font-weight: 400;">https://www.bouldercounty.org/environment/sustainability/climate-change-2/climate-accountability/</span></a></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">From San Miguel County: </span><a href="https://www.sanmiguelcountyco.gov/514/Climate-Accountability" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 700; outline: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; font-weight: 400;">https://www.sanmiguelcountyco.gov/514/Climate-Accountability</span></a></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; line-height: 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px;">From the City of Boulder: </span><a href="https://bouldercolorado.gov/climate" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 700; outline: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border: 0px; font-weight: 400;">https://bouldercolorado.gov/climate</span></a></font></p></div><div times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div></div></div><div>=</div></div>