A coalition of major oil companies is asking the Supreme Court to rule on a key aspect of numerous ongoing nationwide lawsuits brought by cities, counties and states, accusing the companies of misleading the public about their role in global warming. .
In a petition for certiorari filed Wednesday, oil companies including Sunoco, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, among others, asked the high court to intervene in a climate case brought against them by the city and the county. from Honolulu. They said a Supreme Court ruling in the case could have far-reaching impacts on other similar cases brought by other jurisdictions.
“Rarely is a case of such extraordinary importance to one of the country's most vital industries brought before this Court,” the companies wrote in the document. “Energy companies that produce, sell and trade fossil fuels face numerous lawsuits in state courts across the country seeking billions of dollars in damages for damages allegedly caused by global climate change.”
“This case presents the Court with its only foreseeable opportunity in the near future to decide a dispositive question that arises in every climate change case: whether federal law precludes state law claims seeking relief for harms allegedly caused by climate change. effects of interstate storms and international greenhouse gas emissions on global climate,” the document continues.
ROCKEFELLER FUND COORDINATED CLIMATE DEMAND DRIVEN BY MILLIONAIRES WITH DEM STATE AG: INTERNAL DOCUMENTS
The fossil fuel companies said a Supreme Court decision in the case would “provide clarity on whether lawsuits seeking global climate change relief can proceed before state courts and parties expend significant effort and countless sums in costs.” litigation and before the energy industry is threatened with harm. prizes that could amount to billions of dollars.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The companies specifically asked the Supreme Court to “review and clarify” whether state law is capable of imposing the costs of global climate change “on a subset of the world's energy producers” chosen by the plaintiffs in the case.
“Without this Court's intervention, it could be years before another opportunity arises to address this pressing issue,” he added.
TED CRUZ INVESTIGATES LEFT-WING GROUP ON THE EFFORT TO TRAIN FEDERAL JUDGES FOR CLIMATE CASES
The case dates back nearly four years when, in March 2020, Honolulu officials announced they had sued the companies for damages related to climate change and for misleading the public about the potential impact of their fossil fuel products on warming. global.
Honolulu is one of more than a dozen major jurisdictions that have filed such lawsuits against oil companies in recent years. In general, states and cities such as California, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Minnesota, Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Baltimore, which together represent more than 25% of Americans, are pursuing similar litigation.
There are oil rigs in the Loco Hills field in Eddy County, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Jeri Clausing, File)
The fossil fuel industry has tried, unsuccessfully, to move some of the cases from state courts, where they were filed, to federal courts. In January, the Supreme Court declined to weigh in on that issue, forcing the cases back to state courts.
But Wednesday's filing represents the first time the Supreme Court has been asked to review issues related to the merits. In particular, it asks the court to recognize that the federal Clean Air Act effectively preempts state law and that state laws cannot provide “global climate change relief.”
CONSUMERS GROUP REVEALS LEFT-WING GROUPS ARE INCREASINGLY USING THE COURTS TO PUSH FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL
“Litigation in state courts is not a constitutionally permissible means of establishing global climate and energy policy,” Theodore Boutrous, who serves as counsel for Chevron Corporation, said in a written statement to Fox News Digital. “As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in dismissing a similar lawsuit from New York City, 'a case this extensive is simply beyond the bounds of state law.'”
The Honolulu skyline on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/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 energy production and use around the world – as the plaintiffs' case attempts to do – is simply beyond the limits of any individual state's law,” Goldberg said. “Trying to apply Hawaii state law to climate change here is directly at odds with these rulings, and the Supreme Court should take up this case to ensure that states properly follow its jurisprudence.”
TOP REPUBLICANS LAUNCH INVESTIGATION INTO BLUE STATE LAWSUITS FUNDED BY LEONARDO DICAPRIO AGAINST BIG OIL
The Honolulu case, along with a large swath of other similar cases brought by state and local governments, is being led by the California law firm Sher Edling. Sher Edling, founded in 2016 with the stated goal of taking on this type of litigation, states on its website that its climate practice seeks to hold oil companies accountable for their alleged “deception” about climate change.
Vic Sher, partner at law firm Sher Edling, talks about the climate litigation he is involved in during a virtual panel in December 2021. (American Museum of Tort Law/YouTube)
Sher Edling's work has received support from environmentalists and nonprofit groups who argue that climate litigation is an important tool in fighting global warming.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“In light of the growing body of evidence of Big Oil's climate fraud and deception, and the lower courts' continued rejection of their efforts to escape trial, it is not surprising that fossil fuel companies are once again trying to escape prosecution. responsibility,” Alyssa Johl, vice president of legal and general counsel at the Center for Climate Integrity, told Fox News Digital.
“Communities across the country deserve their day in court to hold Big Oil accountable for their climate lies and the harm they have caused.”
Sher Edling did not respond to a request for comment.
