"Last November, two Washington residents filed a lawsuit accusing petroleum corporations of misleading the public for decades about fossil fuels' effect on climate change and how global warming is harming the planet and its inhabitants. Their lawsuit marks the latest addition to the growing number targeting Big Oil. The case, however, was novel, given the plaintiffs' damage claims: That increased carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning have intensified extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods and heat waves."
"The number of climate-related disasters has surged in recent years and caused billions of dollars' worth of damage, undeniably triggering a spike in insurance. This has eaten into insurance companies' profits, prompting them to raise their premiums at a much higher rate than inflation - especially in disaster-prone areas. Many insurers are simply abandoning homeowners in areas with a high wildfire risk by canceling or refusing to renew their policies."
"This has eaten into insurance companies' profits, prompting them to raise their premiums at a much higher rate than inflation - especially in disaster-prone areas. Many insurers are simply abandoning homeowners in areas with a high wildfire risk by canceling or refusing to renew their policies. This has effectively increased housing costs in places that were already facing an affordability crunch, hitting lower-income families the hardest."
Two Washington residents sued petroleum companies, alleging decades of misleading the public about fossil fuels' role in climate change and claiming that increased carbon emissions have intensified extreme weather. The plaintiffs assert that hurricanes, wildfires, floods and heat waves have driven up homeowners' insurance premiums and precipitated an insurance crisis. Climate-related disasters have surged, causing billions in damages, eroding insurer profits, and prompting premium increases and policy cancellations in high-risk areas. These insurance shifts have raised housing costs, hit lower-income families hardest, and could alter building patterns in high-risk zones while courts consider liability.
Read at High Country News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]