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Chevron says it has no plans to pay the $8.6billion (£5.3bn, €6.2bn) fine passed down by a court in Ecuador in what is thought to be the highest damage award ever issued in an environmental lawsuit.
The court case concerns contamination by Texaco, now owned by Chevron, in the 1970s and 80s, by which highly toxic waste was dumped into local rivers, causing serious health problems for indigenous peoples.
The fine is below the $27bn recommended by a court-appointed consultant, however, and plaintiffs have called the final figure ‘insignificant’ and say they are considering pushing for more money.
Chevron, on the other hand, has called the fine ‘illegitimate and unenforceable’, and said it would appeal against the ruling and ‘see to it that the perpetrators of this fraud are brought to justice’. Chevron has long been critical of the country’s left-wing president, Rafael Correa, who has supported the plaintiffs.
NGOs have applauded the ruling. Amazon Watch and the Rainforest Action Network said in a joint statement: ‘Chevron has spent the last 18 years waging unprecedented public relations and lobbying campaigns to avoid cleaning up the environmental and public health catastrophe it left in the Amazon rainforest. Today’s guilty verdict sends a loud and clear message: It is time Chevron clean up its disastrous mess in Ecuador.’
The appeal process could go on for some years.
The court case concerns contamination by Texaco, now owned by Chevron, in the 1970s and 80s, by which highly toxic waste was dumped into local rivers, causing serious health problems for indigenous peoples.
The fine is below the $27bn recommended by a court-appointed consultant, however, and plaintiffs have called the final figure ‘insignificant’ and say they are considering pushing for more money.
Chevron, on the other hand, has called the fine ‘illegitimate and unenforceable’, and said it would appeal against the ruling and ‘see to it that the perpetrators of this fraud are brought to justice’. Chevron has long been critical of the country’s left-wing president, Rafael Correa, who has supported the plaintiffs.
NGOs have applauded the ruling. Amazon Watch and the Rainforest Action Network said in a joint statement: ‘Chevron has spent the last 18 years waging unprecedented public relations and lobbying campaigns to avoid cleaning up the environmental and public health catastrophe it left in the Amazon rainforest. Today’s guilty verdict sends a loud and clear message: It is time Chevron clean up its disastrous mess in Ecuador.’
The appeal process could go on for some years.
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