June 10 (Reuters) - California's attorney general on

Monday sought to force the world's biggest oil companies to give

up profits the state alleges they made while deceiving consumers

about their role in contributing to climate change.

The legal action comes months after a new state law went

into effect that allows the attorney general to seek profits

obtained from companies while they violated laws against unfair

competition and false advertising.

Attorney General Rob Bonta added the so-called disgorgement

remedy to a lawsuit filed last year against Exxon Mobil ( XOM ),

Chevron ( CVX ), Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips ( COP )

and oil and gas industry trade group the American

Petroleum Institute (API).

The suit, filed in state court in San Francisco, alleges the

energy giants have caused tens of billions of dollars in damages

and accuses them of deceiving the public.

API called the suit without merit.

"This ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless,

politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry

and its workers is nothing more than a distraction from

important national conversations and an enormous waste of

taxpayer resources," API General Counsel Ryan Meyers said in a

statement. "Climate policy is for Congress to debate and decide,

not a patchwork of courts."

Exxon, Chevron ( CVX ), Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) were not

immediately available for comment.

The filing comes days after United Nations Secretary-General

Antonio Guterres called on countries to ban fossil fuel

advertising as many do for tobacco and other products that have

proven harmful to human health.

In recent weeks, major oil and gas companies have fought

back against activist shareholders urging more corporate climate

action while some U.S. lawmakers have stepped up probes into

whether the industry is behaving deceptively.