"California Seeks to Seize Big Oil Companies’ Profits in Climate Greenwashing Suit," 11 June 2024.

California Attorney General [AG]... announced on Monday that the state would seek to seize the “illegally obtained profits” of several big oil companies, as part of an amended lawsuit claiming that the companies falsely advertised the environmental sustainability attributes of their products, and of fossil fuels generally.

The amendment follows the launch of the suit by the AG in September 2023 against oil companies..., alleging that the companies carried out a decades-long “climate deception campaign” through public statements and marketing, aimed at denying and creating doubt about the impact of fossil fuels on climate change, despite knowing about the link between them since at least the 1960s.

The updated complaint applies a California law, AB1366, which authorizes the Attorney General to obtain a remedy of disgorgement of profits in cases of unfair competition and false advertising. Under AB1366, companies found to have violated the law would be required to deposit profits obtained through the violation into a new Victims of Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund, for use as restitution to victims of consumer fraud in the state.

The update also adds several instances of alleged greenwashing by the companies to the complaint, through which the state claims that the companies misleadingly portrayed themselves and their fossil fuel products as environmentally friendly, or less environmentally damaging than they actually are...

In a statement provided to ESG Today, a Shell spokesperson said that the company does not believe that climate change should be addressed in the courtroom, but rather “that smart policy from government and action from all sectors is the appropriate way to reach solutions and drive progress.”...