A coalition of major oil companies is addressing key aspects of a number of ongoing nationwide lawsuits filed by cities, counties and states accusing them of misleading the public about their companies’ role in contributing to global warming. , asking the Supreme Court to issue a ruling.
In a writ petition filed Wednesday, the oil companies — including Sunoco, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, among others — are accused of climate change lawsuits brought against them by cities and counties. asked the High Court to intervene. of Honolulu. They said the Supreme Court’s decision in this case could have far-reaching implications for similar cases brought by other jurisdictions.
“Rarely has a case of this significance to one of this country’s most important industries come before this court,” the companies wrote in their filing. “Energy companies that produce, sell, and sell fossil fuels face numerous lawsuits in state courts across the country seeking billions of dollars in damages for injuries allegedly caused by global climate change. There is.”
“This case asks courts to address a critical question that arises in all climate change litigation: whether federal law precludes state law claims seeking relief for injuries allegedly caused by interstate impacts. “This presents the only foreseeable opportunity in the near future to determine “international greenhouse gas emissions on the Earth’s climate,” the application continued.
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The fossil fuel companies said the Supreme Court’s decision in the case would “save a global “This will clarify whether lawsuits seeking climate change relief can proceed.” Prizes can reach billions of dollars. ” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The companies asked the Supreme Court to specifically “consider” whether state law could impose the costs of global climate change on “some of the world’s energy producers” named by the plaintiffs in the case. asked for clarification.
“Without this court’s intervention, it may be years before we have another opportunity to address this pressing issue,” he added.
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The lawsuit dates back nearly four years to March 2020, when Honolulu city officials accused the companies of misleading the public about climate change-related damages and the potential global warming impact of fossil fuel products. announced.
Honolulu is one of more than a dozen major jurisdictions that have filed such lawsuits against oil companies in recent years. Overall, states and cities such as California, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Minnesota, Chicago, New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Baltimore, which together represent more than 25% of Americans, have filed similar lawsuits. It’s happening.
An oil rig stands in the Loco Hills oil field in Eddy County, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Jeri Clausing, File)
The fossil fuel industry has unsuccessfully tried to move some of the lawsuits, which have been filed in state courts, to federal court. In January, the Supreme Court declined to consider the issue and sent the case back to state court.
But Wednesday’s filing marks the first time the Supreme Court has been asked to consider questions on the merits. Among other things, the law asks courts to recognize that the federal Clean Air Act effectively preempts state laws and that state laws cannot provide “remedies for global climate change.”
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“Litigation in state court is not a constitutionally permissible means of establishing global climate change and energy policy,” Chevron General Counsel Theodore Boutras said in a written statement to Fox News Digital. No,” he said. “As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed a similar case in New York City, “such a far-reaching lawsuit is entirely beyond the scope of state law.”
Skyline of Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. (Carol M. Highsmith/Bayenlarge/Getty Images)
In a separate statement, Phil Goldberg, special counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers Accountability Project, asked the Supreme Court to grant the petition.
“Regulating the production and use of energy around the world, as plaintiffs’ lawsuit attempts to do, is well beyond the limits of individual state laws,” Goldberg said. “Attempting to apply Hawaii law to climate change here is in direct contradiction to these decisions, and the Supreme Court should take up this case and ensure that states properly follow that doctrine. ”
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The Honolulu case, like most other similar cases brought by state and local governments, is being led by California law firm Sher Edling. Schaer Edling, which was founded in 2016 with the goal of taking on such cases, says on its website that its climate change practice aims to hold oil companies accountable for alleged “deceptions” about climate change. It states that
Vic Shah, a partner at the law firm Shah Edling, will discuss the climate change litigation he is involved in during a virtual panel discussion in December 2021. (American Tort Museum/YouTube)
Shar Edling’s work is backed by environmental activists and nonprofit groups who say climate litigation is an important tool to combat global warming.
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“Given the ever-growing evidence of big oil companies’ fraud and deception regarding climate change, and given that lower courts continue to reject their efforts to evade justice, fossil fuel companies are once again being held accountable. It’s not surprising that they would try to evade responsibility,” said Vice President Alyssa Joll. The Center for Climate Health’s director of legal and general counsel told Fox News Digital.
“Communities across the country deserve a day in court to hold Big Oil accountable for lies about climate change and the damage it has caused.”
Shah Edling did not respond to a request for comment.
