Supreme Court Declines Oil and Gas Companies in Climate Change Lawsuits

Oil and gas companies are trying to fight back against companies promoting climate change.

They were devastated to learn that the Supreme Court rejected their motion to hear arguments in their effort to block lawsuits.

This will allow the lawsuit that originated in Honolulu to proceed.

Big Blow to Big Oil

Honolulu’s chief resilience officer, Ben Sullivan, is seeking damages from gas and oil companies to protect “taxpayers and communities from the immense costs and consequences of the climate crisis caused by the defendants’ misconduct.”

Big oil has been facing cases that are alleging it is partly to blame for climate change, contributing to wildfires, rising sea levels, and severe storms, among other claims.

So far, in addition to Hawaii, California, Colorado, and New Jersey are involved in the suit, seeking billions in damages from the industry.

This is now the second major defeat for oil and gas, also having lost its appeal to Hawaii’s Supreme Court.

Many of the companies being sued are based in Texas. Among the major companies being sued are Sunoco, Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and BP.

Big Oil wants this case moved out of local courts to federal courts, claiming that emissions are a national issue. They have also had numerous cases tossed out in federal court, which have been much more receptive to the claims made by big oil.

Attorneys for the defendants stated, “The stakes in this case could not be higher.” The lawsuits “present a serious threat to one of the nation’s most vital industries.”

The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, is now worried that allowing the case to proceed in a state court will only encourage more lawsuits against the industry, stating, “I hope that the Court will hear the issue someday, for the sake of constitutional accountability and the public interest.”

What I am interested to see is how this all plays out once the Trump administration takes office next week.

Whereas Biden was pushing these suits, Trump will allow the DOJ to step in and do what it can to defend the industry. This battle is far from over for big oil, regardless of how this particular case proceeds.