Chickens Coming Home to Roost?

It's a story with strong parallels to that of the Tobacco industry. Cigarette producers knew for decades, from their own and funded research, about the harmful effects (e.g. on lung cancer, cardiovascular disease etc) of their products. The companies essentially colluded to downplay the link and, in doing so, left themselves open to lawsuits by former smokers and/or their dependents. In the case of oil, as early as 1979, a study by Exxon scientists, warned the company that burning fossil fuels (oil, in this case) would cause dramatic environmental effects over the coming decades. The company's scientists described the potential problem as being 'great and urgent'. The US (and other) oil companies clearly appreciated climate change science. They collectively colluded, however, to bury the findings (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/30/climate-crimes-oil-and-gas-environment). The decision by 'big oil' to hide the situation from governments and the general public, clearly aggrevated the environmental crisis. As a consequence, they (and producers of gas and coal) are now open to an unprecedented wave of lawsuits, filed by cities and states across the US (and elsewhere in the world). It can (and perhaps will) be claimed that oil company actions have resulted in heat deaths, flooding, building collapses, crop failures etc etc. Lawsuits may not be limited to the US, as carbon dioxide doesn't recognise borders between countries. Lawsuits will certainly cause the companies financial problems. Top lawyers are likely to benefit. The lawsuits won't, however, restore 'greenhouse gas' levels back to manageable levels. I also suspect that executives, who took the well-remunerated 'fatal' decisions decades ago, will largely emerge unscathed. Greed may not be good but it is often successful.