Washington DC - Senator Bernie Sanders and some of his progressive colleagues are calling on the US Department of Justice to sue fossil fuel companies over their role in misleading consumers and driving the global climate emergency.

"We write to strongly urge the Department of Justice to bring suits against the fossil fuel industry for its longstanding and carefully coordinated campaign to mislead consumers and discredit climate science in pursuit of massive profits," Sanders said in a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, also signed by Democratic Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

"The actions of ExxonMobil, Shell, and potentially other fossil fuel companies represent a clear violation of federal racketeering laws, truth in advertising laws, consumer protection laws, and potentially other laws, and the Department must act swiftly to hold them accountable for their unlawful actions," the missive continued.

As early as the 1970s, Exxon and Shell knew that burning fossil fuels would result in human-driven climate change, but they hid this information from consumers.

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"Despite these companies' knowledge about climate change and the role their industry was playing in driving carbon emissions, they chose to participate in a decadeslong, carefully coordinated campaign of misinformation to obfuscate climate science and convince the public that fossil fuels are not the primary driver of climate change," the senators alleged.

The need for federal judicial measures is all the greater as communities around the country are suffering the severe consequences of inaction, the senators warned.

"Thanks to the illegal lies of the fossil fuel industry, climate change is wreaking catastrophic damage upon the United States," their letter states. "Floods, droughts, extreme weather disturbances, and wildfires are causing unprecedented damage."

The senators note that dealing with the effects of climate change could cost the US up to $14.5 trillion over the next half century – and that paying this price should fall on the shoulders of those responsible.

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More than 40 states and cities have filed suit against fossil fuel companies, but the DOJ has not yet taken legal action of its own.

"The Department of Justice must join the fight," the senators insisted. "The future of our planet depends on it."