New Jersey is suing five oil and gas companies and a lobbying group for lying about the harm caused by fossil fuels and its link to catastrophic climate change. A lawsuit filed Tuesday names ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute. This is New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

Attorney General Matthew Platkin: “They led a decades-long disinformation campaign to confuse the public about fossil fuels and climate change, even though the scientific consensus was secure. They did this to avoid — specifically to avoid — a cleaner, lower-carbon future and to preserve their market for their commodities at the expense of the global environment, and, frankly, at all of our expense. They also did this to stave off public opinion or government action that could have cut into their profits.”

New Jersey officials say the state is “ground zero” for climate change. The suit comes just days ahead of the 10th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which killed 38 people in New Jersey and cost an estimated $65 billion in damage in the U.S.