Baltimore’s elected officials seem to fancy the idea of the city being a groundbreaking climate change crusader against oil companies but that distinction will not help the city’s poorest residents, the majority of whom are African-American. In some cases, deceptive marketing tactics from renewable energy companies have already sent residents bills soaring by as much as 50 to 75 percent.
Baltimore alleges in a lawsuit that more than two dozen oil companies deliberately downplayed the connection between using their products and climate change and now wants the industry to pay the anticipated costs of rising sea levels and other phenomena.