In the past, it has been difficult to link any specific natural disaster to specific factors, but a study published in September has made the connection, Nature reported.

What's happening?

This study, published in Nature, examined heat waves from 2000 through 2023. There were 213 of these events recorded, of which 53 — more than a quarter — were made more than 10,000 times more likely due to Earth's rising temperature.

"I cannot as a scientist assign legal responsibilities for these events," said lead author Yann Quilcaille of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, per Nature. "What I can say is that each one of these carbon majors is contributing to heatwaves, making them more intense and also making them more likely."

Quilcaille and his team connected these human-caused heat waves to the specific sources most likely to be responsible, including ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron, as well as countries that rely heavily on dirty fuels.

Why are studies like this important?

Scientists have long known that the risk of extreme weather has gone up with the rising temperature, increasing economic damage and the loss of human life around the globe. It is also clear that air pollution from dirty energy sources plays a critical role in Earth's overheating.

While this is a relatively new area of study, it is not the first paper to draw a link between specific polluters and the harm they cause. This growing body of research could contribute to a new category of lawsuits — some of which are already in the works — holding polluters responsible for the damage that they have profited from causing.

With enough evidence and enough legal pressure, America's courts could pressure corporate America to make more eco-friendly choices, while collecting funds to help undo some of the damage these companies have caused to the environment.

What's being done about holding corporations accountable?

According to Nature, one county government in Oregon has filed a $52 billion lawsuit against dirty fuel companies regarding a 2021 heat wave. Many other governments affected by extreme weather could do the same using data like this.

"It's a systematic approach to attribution which brings us to the next level in creating a chain of causality," said Karsten Haustein of the University of Leipzig in Germany, per Nature. "We absolutely can allocate blame, and we absolutely should."

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