Rhode Island court forces Shell to reveal climate cover-up

A ⚓Rhode Island federal judge ruled in May 2025 that Conservation Law Foundation can pursue broad discovery of Shell's internal climate change documents in their lawsuit over the Providence Terminal's failure to prepare for climate impacts.

DBDarrèll Brown, Vice President of CLF ⚓Rhode Island, has led the legal fight against Shell's Providence Terminal, which sits at sea level on filled land in the 🌲Washington Park neighborhood.

CKChris Kilian, Vice President of Strategic Litigation at CLF, warned that 'Shell's facility is an accident waiting to happen' and that 'one severe storm could result in the terminal spilling toxic chemicals into the Providence River and surrounding communities.'

Federal District JWJudge William Smith refused Shell's motion to dismiss in September 2020, allowing the case to proceed toward discovery and trial. During virtual hearings, Judge Smith characterized the situation as one where 'a bomb is going to go off, just don't know when.'

Shell's Providence Terminal already shows dangerous vulnerabilities to current weather conditions that will worsen with climate change. CLF evidence includes photos from December 2022 showing contaminated areas of the facility flooded during a storm.

The terminal stores oil, ethanol, and toxic chemicals at a location that would flood with just a Category 1 storm surge, far less severe than the Category 4 hurricanes increasingly moving into northern Atlantic waters due to warming oceans.

CLF's climate adaptation lawsuit represents a new legal strategy focusing on infrastructure preparedness rather than traditional emissions-based climate litigation.

Shell has systematically refused to answer discovery questions about high-level parent company officials and has hidden climate evidence despite court orders.