Annapolis was right to sue oil companies

Mayor Gavin Buckley announced last week that the city of Annapolis was suing 26 oil and gas companies for damages the city has and will continue to incur due to climate change. The mayor had no other choice but to sue.

A trifecta of failures — legislative, economic and ethical — have brought Annapolis, and communities everywhere, to a precarious point.

The first failure was legislative: For decades, federal and state governments failed to pass legislation and enforce regulations to significantly curb greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, they gave nearly free reign, and in many cases, encouraged the worst impulses of the fossil fuel industry. Despite recent attempts by governments to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels, the United States still gets approximately 80% of its energy from coal, oil and gas, and Maryland’s reliance on these non-renewables remains high.

The second failure was one of economic ideology, which has brought our planet to the brink and has proven to be no match for runaway global warming. A fervent belief that the “market” will solve all problems has proved false. In fact, laissez-faire capitalism has contributed to the climate crisis. And the profits of big polluters have grown in lockstep with the cost to the planet and to municipalities like Annapolis.

The third failure was one of ethics. The fossil fuel industry has known of the terrible consequences of burning fossil fuels and understood the devastating effects of global warming yet has chosen short-term profits over the well-being of us all. This ethical lapse directly threatens Annapolis. The climate crisis has arrived, and it’s time we hold these companies accountable.

Mounting evidence from the industry’s own documents proves that giants like Exxon knew for over 50 years about climate change.

And yet, instead of investing in cleaner sources of energy, they began a decadeslong, multimillion-dollar campaign to sow confusion and doubt about the science of global warming.

Annapolis now finds itself underwater — both economically and, far too often, physically. We’ve all witnessed the increase of sunny day flooding. Its inconvenience is one thing, but the financial impact on local businesses is huge, and experts tell us it’s only going to get worse.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average number of days with high-tide flooding has more than doubled since 2000 across the Southeastern United States, while in the Northeast it has jumped 75%. A recent Stanford study, predicts that by 2050 City Dock will flood nearly every day of the year.

At the news press conference announcing the lawsuit, Deputy City Manager Jacqueline Guilds reminded us that “all of this flooding comes with a price tag.” In fact, three of the city’s current projects — protecting City Dock, reinforcing infrastructure and revamping Hillman Garage — will cost approximately $100 million dollars. These are not optional projects.

These are directly related to the effects of the climate crisis, caused in large part by the fossil fuel industry. These climate resiliency projects are just beginning. Global warming has put the economic solvency of a small city like Annapolis in jeopardy.

So I say “Kudos” to Buckley for doing what has to be done to preserve this great historic city, our state capital. By joining the growing number of cities, counties and states across the country, the mayor and other city officials are making sure that the people of Annapolis are not left holding the bag when it comes to paying for an economic crisis they did not create. This time the polluters will pay.