TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and his administration are suing big oil companies over their decades of pollution in the Garden State. At the same time, New Jersey’s public pension fund continues to invest in those same companies, even as it is suing them.
Governor Murphy defended those investments, saying they are made by a board, saying it is not New Jersey’s policy to ban investments, but at the end of the day, the job of the investment commission is to earn as much money as possible for retirees.
Murphy said the investments into big oil are profit-motivated and did not say whether or not he would bar the pension fund from continuing to invest in companies he claims are responsible for global warming, pollution, and rising sea levels.
That money is coming from successful and profitable oil and gas companies. Meanwhile, many companies in the wind and green energy sector is not yielding financial investment returns at the same level as the oil companies the government is suing.
In 2022, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, along with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and the Department of Environmental Protection, filed a lawsuit against major oil and gas companies and a petroleum trade association. The lawsuit, filed in Mercer County’s New Jersey Superior Court, alleges that these entities made false claims to mislead the public about climate change and the impact of fossil fuels.
The defendants include Exxon Mobil Corporation, Shell Oil Company, Chevron Corporation, BP, ConocoPhillips, and the American Petroleum Institute (API). The lawsuit accuses them of systematically concealing their knowledge about the catastrophic impact of fossil fuel consumption on the climate. This has allegedly led to severe consequences such as sea level rise, flooding, and extreme weather, burdening New Jersey with high costs for rebuilding and transitioning to sustainable energy.
The State claims that these companies and API have known for decades about the climate impact of fossil fuels but chose to launch campaigns to create doubt about climate change. This was allegedly done to delay the transition to a lower carbon economy, increase profits, and deepen dependence on fossil fuels.
Attorney General Platkin stated that these companies understood the environmental impacts of their products but chose to prioritize profits over public safety. The lawsuit aims to bring these facts to light in a New Jersey court and seek accountability for the alleged disinformation campaign and its harms.