ClientEarth USA is a nonprofit organisation that uses the law to hold fossil fuel corporations accountable for the environmental harm they cause.
Fossil fuels are driving climate change. And yet, the fossil fuel industry continues to put profit before people and the planet. With the world facing a worsening climate crisis, tackling the harm that fossil fuels do is central to our work.
How fossil fuels harm the planet
There are many different ways that fossil fuels harm our planet. The burning of fossil fuels, like oil and gas, releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the air. These greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming. That warming is responsible for devastating environmental harm such as extreme weather, rising sea levels, biodiversity loss and species extinction.
Beyond the impact of fossil fuels on climate change and global warming, there are many ways that the fossil fuel industry affects people and the environment. From abandoned oil wells that pollute air and water to gas pipelines that threaten wildlife, fossil fuel infrastructure poses a risk to human health and essential ecosystems.
What we’re doing to protect people and the planet from fossil fuels
ClientEarth USA is currently working on a number of cases to hold fossil fuel corporations accountable.
Zombie Wells
One of our key areas of work is supporting local communities who are affected by abandoned oil and gas wells across the USA. These wells, called "zombie wells", are wells that continue to pollute the air and water around them even after they’ve stopped producing oil or gas. When these wells aren’t properly plugged or cleaned up, they continue to release toxins into the environment around them, poisoning drinking water and contaminating soil and air with devastating effects on human health and local wildlife. Many fossil fuel corporations are using loopholes to avoid their legal responsibilities and putting the cost for cleaning up these wells onto taxpayers.
We’re supporting affected communities to take legal action against oil and gas corporations who have left unplugged oil and gas wells on their land.
Saguaro Energia LNG Terminal
Another key focus of our work is protecting the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Gulf of California that’s currently at risk because of the Saguaro Energia project - a large scale plan for an Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminal that will industrialize pristine shores, cut gas pipelines through desert habitats, and unleash millions of tons of planet-heating methane pollution if it goes ahead.
This project represents the overall threat posed by the failure to move away from fossil fuels. Every new pipeline and export terminal built today delays the urgently needed transition to renewable energy, and deepens our dependence on dangerous fossil fuels, even as the world faces devastating floods, fires, and droughts driven by a rapidly warming planet.
We’re working to expose and challenge the Saguaro Energia LNG Terminal, putting pressure on the corporate and financial institutions involved in the project to consider the serious financial, legal, and reputational risk that continuing to support projects like this entail.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
We're taking the life sciences company, Thermo Fisher, to court in a case that could set a legal precedent that workers across the U.S. have a right to demand fossil-free retirement options that align with their beliefs. The case is based on Dr. Andrew Hartley’s request for a single fossil-free fund option in his retirement plan, which the company ignored.
Dr. Hartley is a statistical science director whose faith directs him to steward and protect the planet and shapes how he lives: he cycles almost everywhere, banks with an institution that doesn't fund fossil fuels, and helps lead two environmental religious organizations.
Our case is based on the fact that the company’s failure to provide a fossil-free fund option that aligns with Dr. Hartley's religious belief is incompatible with a 2023 Supreme Court case which strengthened workers’ right to religious accommodation. A win in this case could establish the legal precedent that workers across the U.S. have a right to demand fossil-free retirement options that align with their beliefs.
Read more about our Thermo Fisher Scientific case
We'd like to hear from you about whether your retirement options align with your beliefs - find out more.
Washington Gas
Our team has joined environmental and consumer groups in the United States to bring a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against District of Columbia power utility Washington Gas over greenwashing in its marketing.
Our lawsuit alleges Washington Gas – which delivers fossil gas to more than one million residential, commercial and industrial customers – used misleading language and images that promote gas’ environmental benefits to customers. We believe these marketing messages are in violation of D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which makes it a violation “to engage in an unfair or deceptive trade practice, whether or not any consumer is in fact misled, deceived or damaged.”
Join us to hold reckless corporations accountable for a liveable planet.
ClientEarth USA’s attorneys and litigators are committed to using their knowledge of environmental, corporate, finance and consumer law to change the destructive practices of American corporations and pursue environmental justice for a livable planet.
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Together we can hold reckless corporations accountable for environmental harm and work together for a livable planet for everyone. Find out more how you can support our mission.
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