I live here in Southern California, and I hope and pray that California is successful. But I don’t think it will be called a victory. Looking at reality, Big Oil has, since finding out from their own scientists in the late ’70s, based their business on a deadly, unsustainable business model. And they’ve ignored the warnings and stayed “business as usual” instead of implementing a sustainable business model.
No matter what decision is made in the lawsuit, one or the other parties is going to appeal it to a higher court. No matter what decision is made by the higher court, one or the other parties is going to continue to pursue this to the highest court. If the decision is in favor of Big Oil, there will most likely be protests in the streets, led by Greta, breaking out in all countries. If the decision is against Big Oil, they will make business decisions that will be detrimental to the rest of the people.
I think the only way to make the Fossil Fuel Companies do what’s best for the people is to break up the companies, just like what was done in the days of the Rockefellers. The nation may have to declare a national emergency to get the people to realize the seriousness and magnitude of this problem. The IPCC and other climate change entities have been pressured and influenced by fossil fuels countries so much that there hasn’t been enough change to stop putting gigatons of CO2 into the atmosphere. All these inactions I’ve described have slowed change and there is the biggest problem: lack of action and drops in priorities.
One thing California has that the federal government does not have is the way of putting an initiative on the ballot. There may be an initiative that rations gasoline so that as time passes, less and less gasoline will be allowed to be sold. Or a progressively heavier increase in the state tax on gasoline, with the taxes used to finance infrastructure for electric vehicles. Or some other way of hastening the elimination of fossil fuels. Lawsuits take years and years, so it’s better to start *now* by making it more difficult to buy fossil fuels.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-16/california-sues-five-major-oil-companies-for-lying-about-climate-change