Maine on Tuesday sued several big players in the energy industry over accusations they developed fossil fuel products despite knowing about the damage to the climate caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Attorney General Aaron Frey sued BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Sunoco and the American Petroleum Institute, saying the companies and industry group deceived Mainers about the “role of fossil fuel products in causing climate change.” The lawsuit was filed in Cumberland County Superior Court. 

Frey, who is seeking reelection, said he intends to hold the energy companies accountable for “failing to warn Mainers and concealing their knowledge about the devastating consequences of the increasing use of fossil fuels on Maine’s people, economy and environment.”

The result has been significant financial and public health costs, property damage and other harms, he said.

“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their own science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” Frey said.

Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. of the Los Angeles law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, which represents Chevron, said in an emailed statement that addressing climate change “requires a coordinated federal and international policy response, not meritless state court litigation attacking essential energy production.”

Identical claims have been dismissed by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York and state courts in Delaware and Maryland, he said. Boutrous cited a Baltimore city court that said state law cannot provide a remedy to claims “involving foreign emissions.”

However, a Connecticut court in July rejected an industry bid to dismiss the state’s climate liability case, siding with the attorney general who sued ExxonMobil in state court.

In March, ExxonMobil said in a securities filing that the challenges seek “unprecedented legal and equitable relief for various alleged injuries purportedly connected to climate change.”

“These lawsuits assert a variety of novel, untested claims under statutory and common law. We believe the legal and factual theories set forth in these proceedings are meritless and represent an inappropriate attempt to use the court system to usurp the proper role of policymakers in addressing the societal challenges of climate change,” it said.

In an emailed statement, ExxonMobil said more than half of households in Maine use petroleum products for home heating, a larger share than in any other state. “These baseless claims ignore the state’s historic dependence on oil and natural gas, do nothing to address the risks of climate change and waste taxpayer dollars,” it said.

“We’ll continue to fight these lawsuits and false claims and, more importantly, continue to be a leader in the energy transition by investing more than $20 billion in lower-emission initiatives from 2022 through 2027,” ExxonMobil said.

Natalie Gunnell, a spokesperson for Shell, said its position on climate change is a matter of public record.

“We agree that action is needed now on climate change and we fully support the need for society to transition to a lower-carbon future,” she said. “We continue to reduce our emissions and help customers reduce theirs as we supply vital energy the world needs today.”

A spokesperson said Sunoco does not comment on “pending litigation.”

BP and the American Petroleum Institute did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment about Maine’s lawsuit. More than 20 states, tribes, cities and counties have brought similar lawsuits.

Penalties sought by Maine would be in the billions of dollars. The energy giants and American Petroleum Institute are being challenged to pay for past and future climate harms in damages, penalties, abatement and disgorging their profit.

In the lawsuit, Frey said the industry has known for decades, “based on its own internal research,” that fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas.

The industry, including the companies being sued, took the internal scientific findings seriously, “investing heavily to protect its own assets and infrastructure from rising seas, stronger storms and other climate change impacts,” he said. But the companies “mounted a disinformation campaign to discredit the scientific consensus on climate change” to create doubt in the minds of consumers, the media, business leaders and the public about the impacts of climate change, Frey said.

Frey, who is being challenged for reelection by fellow Democrat Maeghan Maloney, the district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, reminded state legislators who will vote for the next attorney general that he stood up to President-elect Donald Trump during his first term and some conservative states on several issues.

Trump has promised to overturn many, if not most, of President Biden’s green energy policies on offshore wind, natural gas and oil development and other issues.