The US Supreme Court has declined to hear oil and gas companies’ appeal in an attempt to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change.
This order will allow the city of Honolulu’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies to proceed. Honolulu’s chief resilience officer, Ben Sullivan, said it’s a significant decision that will protect “taxpayers and communities from the immense costs and consequences of the climate crisis caused by the defendants’ misconduct.”
The industry has faced several cases alleging it deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change.
US state governments, including California, Colorado and New Jersey, are seeking billions of dollars in damages from wildfires, rising sea levels and severe storms among others.
The lawsuits come during a wave of legal actions in the US and worldwide seeking to leverage action on climate change through the courts.
The oil and gas companies appealed to the Supreme Court after Hawaii’s highest court allowed the lawsuit to proceed. The companies include Sunoco, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and bp.
They argued that emissions are a national issue that should instead be fought over in federal court, where they’ve successfully had law suits thrown out.
“The stakes in this case could not be higher,” attorneys wrote in court documents. The lawsuits “present a serious threat to one of the nation’s most vital industries.”
The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said declining to hear the Honolulu case now means the companies could face more lawsuits from activists trying to “make themselves the nation’s energy regulators.”
“I hope that the Court will hear the issue someday, for the sake of constitutional accountability and the public interest,” said Adam White, a senior fellow at the institute.
The Biden administration had joined the argument at the justices’ request and urged them to reject the case, saying it’s fair to keep it in state court at this point - though the administration acknowledged that the companies could eventually prevail.
The incoming Republican Trump administration is expected to take a completely different view of environmental law and energy production.
