In Parting Blow to Energy Industry, Biden-Harris Admin Backs Lawsuits That Aim to Hold Oil and Gas Producers Liable for Global Warming
13th December 2024
The Department of Justice quietly weighed in on litigation pending before the Supreme Court this week, siding with liberal cities and states that are seeking to force the nation’s largest oil companies to pay billions of dollars in damages for global warming.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar filed briefs this week in two related cases: one brought by Honolulu officials in 2020 and another filed by Alabama and 18 other GOP-led states that are asking the court to block litigation against oil companies in California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
In the Honolulu case, the solicitor general urged the Supreme Court to reject the fossil fuel defendants’ request for the court to “review and clarify” whether state law is able to impose the costs of global climate change “on a subset of the world’s energy producers.” And in the Alabama case, Prelogar wrote that the Supreme Court should allow Democratic states to pursue their individual lawsuits against the various companies.