More than 1,000 people sign letter to justice department for federal investigation into industry’s misinformation

Allen Myers grew up in Paradise, California, which for him is “sacred land”. At age 11, he sat beside his mother’s bedside as she passed away in his beloved family home. Years later, that house, along with 90% of the town, burned to the ground in the devastating 2018 Camp fire.

Today, he is demanding the fossil fuel industry be held accountable for its role in that deadly blaze and other climate disasters. Myers and 1,000 survivors of climate disasters signed a letter delivered in person to the US Department of Justice on Thursday, demanding federal investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s “climate crimes”.

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The missive was also signed by 9,000 Americans whose loved ones have survived climate disasters and cites evidence that big oil has known for decades about the dangers of their products and has sought to cover up that evidence.

“Instead of acting responsibly on their own scientists’ warnings, they waged a decades-long disinformation campaign to muddy the science and confuse and mislead the public,” it says.

The letter comes as part of a growing movement for climate accountability. Dozens of municipalities have filed civil lawsuits against the oil and gas industry for allegedly spreading climate disinformation, and some states are crafting legislation seeking to collect climate damages from big oil.