Boulder Colorado is suing Exxon and Suncor to recover costs of climate change adaptation.
“The average person should know we’re finally dealing with the costs of climate change. Irrespective of weather, this is a big concern to you,” said Richard Wiles, the executive director of the Centre for Climate Integrity.
“If your city or state is suddenly facing hundreds of millions of dollars — or billions of dollars — of adaptation costs over the next several years, that puts climate change in a different light. It suddenly becomes very real to you.”
“The main thing that is driving all of the risks that Boulder is talking about is still undeniably heat. Heat is what is behind the impacts they describe,” Mr Wiles said. “They’re talking about drought, about wildfires, about water availability. But it all comes down to heat.”
“Our communities and our taxpayers should not shoulder the cost of climate change adaptation alone. These oil companies need to pay their fair share,” Suzanne Jones, the mayor of the City of Boulder, said in a statement.