On the 10th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey announced that is suing five oil and gas companies and an industry trade group for damages caused by climate change.

The lawsuit claims that the companies – Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and the trade group American Petroleum Institute – knew about the environmental impact of fossil fuels by the mid-1960s, but made false claims about climate change to deceive the public and ensure profits.

“Based on their own research, these companies understood decades ago that their products were causing climate change and would have devastating environmental impacts down the road,” Attorney General Platkin said in a statement.

The state is seeking billions in financial compensation for “natural resource damages.”

“New Jersey is ground zero for some of the worst impacts of climate change,” Shawn M. LaTourette, the State’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection, said in a statement. “Our communities and environment are continually recovering from extreme heat, furious storms, and devastating floods.”

The lawsuit was filed by State Attorney General Matt Platnkin, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and the Department of Environmental Protection and is similar to lawsuits filed against fossil fuel companies by dozens of other states, counties and cites.

Read the full press release on New Jersey’s climate change lawsuit against oil companies

Read the full complaint filed in Superior Court in Mercer County

Watch the full press conference