Bayamón, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico
On November 22, 2022, 16 municipalities in Puerto Rico filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, seeking to hold coal, oil, and gas companies accountable for losses resulting from storms during the 2017 hurricane season and ongoing economic losses since then. They accused the companies of misleading the public about climate change and conspiring to suppress clean energy alternatives.
The municipalities filed the action in their own name, as well as on behalf of a group proposal of all the municipalities of Puerto Rico.
The lawsuit alleged that the losses resulting from the 2017 hurricane season and the ongoing economic losses since 2017 were caused by the negligence of fossil fuel companies.
In February 2025, a federal judge in San Juan ruled that the claims were well-founded and that the antitrust and racketeering (RICO) claims were valid, although he recommended dismissing other allegations, such as those of consumer fraud. This lawsuit also sought compensation for damages caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico dismissed lawsuits filed by Puerto Rican municipalities, both federal and under Puerto Rican law, alleging that fossil fuel industry defendants misrepresented the climate change risks of their products, leading to destructive hurricanes in 2017 that caused extensive damage. The claims against Occidental, Rio Tinto, and BHP were dismissed without prejudice; the RICO claim against the American Petroleum Institute was dismissed with prejudice; the claims under federal and Puerto Rican antitrust law against API were dismissed without prejudice; and the claims against Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Motiva were dismissed with prejudice.
First, the court determined that it could exercise personal jurisdiction over Exxon Mobil Corporation, Shell PLC, BP PLC, Motiva Enterprises LLC, Chevron Corporation and ConocoPhillips in connection with all of the municipalities' claims but dismissed the claims against Occidental Petroleum due to insufficient notice of process and those of Rio Tinto PLC and BHP Group for lack of personal jurisdiction.
The municipalities alleged that the defendants were responsible for 40.01% of all global industrial greenhouse gas emissions from 1965 to 2017, and that these collective emissions were a "substantial factor in the increased intensity of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season."
The plaintiffs argued that the defendant companies were liable because they “knowingly caused and contributed to the worsening of climate change by producing, promoting, refining, marketing and selling fossil fuel products, which cause the devastating effects of climate change, while concealing and misrepresenting the dangers associated with the use of fossil fuel-based products, including the increase in the frequency of more dangerous storms.”
The lawsuit alleged a “global corporate strategy” to conceal information linking the defendants’ products to accelerating climate change and a greater likelihood that Puerto Rico, and consequently the plaintiff municipalities, would be devastated by dangerous and deadly storms. In addition to more intense storms, they alleged other physical impacts of climate change, including the degradation of coral reefs and “a massive proliferation of sargassum,” as well as social, educational, and economic losses, including increased emigration from the municipalities and damage to the agricultural industry.
Reference was made to 14 causes of action under federal law, including claims for consumer fraud and deceptive business practices; complaints under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as well as for lack of warning and design defect, a claim for negligent design defect, and a cause of action for unjust enrichment/restitution.
Regarding the lawsuit filed against the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Court determined that it lacked jurisdiction. On the merits, the Court concluded that the claims based on RICO, the Federal Antitrust Act, and Puerto Rico law were time-barred.
Climate change has had a major impact on Puerto Rico's ecosystems. According to a 2019 report by Germanwatch , the island is the most affected by climate change. The territory's energy consumption comes primarily from imported fossil fuels. The Puerto Rico Climate Change Council (PRCCC) noted severe changes in seven categories: air temperature, precipitation, extreme weather events, tropical storms and hurricanes, ocean acidification, sea surface temperatures, and sea level rise.
Climate change also affects Puerto Rico's population, economy, human health, and the number of people forced to migrate. Surveys have shown that climate change is a major concern for most Puerto Ricans. The territory has enacted laws and policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, including the use of renewable energy.
Local initiatives are working to achieve mitigation and adaptation goals, and international aid programs support reconstruction after extreme weather events and encourage disaster planning.
- Municipality of Bayamón and others.
- Empresas petroleras: Exxon Mobil Corporation, BP P.L.C., Chevron Corporation, Chevron Phillips Chemical Puerto Rico Core, LLC, ConocoPhillips, Shell PLC, Station Managers of Puerto Rico, Inc., Total Energies y Total Energies Marketing PR Corp.
Puerto Rico ranks 19th in carbon dioxide emissions among the 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean; its industrial emissions, energy supplies and transportation are among the island's main sources of net greenhouse gas emissions.
The territory's gross carbon dioxide emissions increased by 80% between 1990 and 2005. Since 2005, emissions have decreased by 42% through 2018, due to the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States. Between 2010 and 2020, the population decreased by 12%, from 3.8 million to 3.3 million inhabitants, as a result of the country's vulnerability to natural disasters and its economic insecurities.
Puerto Rico's energy consumption is almost 70 times greater than its production. Petroleum products supply 63% of Puerto Rico's electricity generation capacity; 23% comes from natural gas, 8% from coal, and 6% from renewable energy sources, specifically solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass.
Puerto Rico has no fossil fuel reserves; the territory's energy consumption comes mostly from imported fossil fuels.
National laws
- Puerto Rico Nuisance Statute (32 LPRA §2761)
- United States: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
- United States: Rule 7 of the Puerto Rico Regulations against Deceptive Practices and Advertising
- United States: Sherman Antitrust Act
- United States: State Law – Strict Liability
- United States: State Law: Unjust Enrichment
- United States: Strict liability for design defects
Beginning
- Principle of prevention
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