Mayor Catherine Pugh and City Solicitor Andre Davis announced today that Baltimore has filed a lawsuit in state Circuit Court in an effort to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change, alleging they knowingly contributed to “potentially catastrophic” consequences of sea-level rise and extreme weather events.

In filing the lawsuit, Baltimore joins a dozen cities to date, including New York and San Francisco, which have launched legal actions against 26 of the most powerful oil and gas corporations in the world—including Exxon Mobil, Shell Oil, Citgo, Chevron, and BP.

With 60 miles of waterfront and an economy built around one of the busiest ports in the world, Baltimore “faces growing costs to protect its residents, businesses, and infrastructure from rising seas and other climate change-related damages,” the mayor’s office said in a press release.

Beyond the potential harm to the Inner Harbor, port neighborhoods and local businesses from sea-level rise, city officials highlighted the potential for harm—and taxpayer burden—from more damaging and more frequent heat waves, droughts and storms.

“These oil and gas companies knew for decades that their products would harm communities like ours, and we’re going to hold them accountable,” said Davis, a formal federal judge hired by Pugh in 2017 to lead the city’s law office. “Baltimore’s residents, workers, and businesses shouldn’t have to pay for the damage knowingly caused by these companies.”

In January of 2015, Baltimore wrote about the already dire consequences of global warming on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and coming problems facing cities such Annapolis and Baltimore. In the past two years, the Baltimore region—most severely felt in Ellicott City—has been impacted by two “1,000-year” storms.