Supreme Court asks for Biden admin's views on climate cases - E&E News by POLITICO
Supreme Court asks for Biden admin's views on climate cases - E&E News by POLITICO
The Supreme Court is asking the Biden administration to weigh in on a procedural battle that could end lawsuits from local governments seeking payment from the oil and gas industry for its role in warming the planet.
In a short order issued Monday, the court invited Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to file a brief “expressing the views of the United States” on whether climate liability lawsuits filed by more than two dozen cities, states and counties belong in state or federal court.
The request marks the second time the Supreme Court has asked for the Biden administration’s take on the litigation. Prelogar last March successfully urged the justices to reject an earlier request from the oil industry to move the cases to federal court, where companies believe the lawsuits are more likely to fail.
This time around, industry is challenging a 2023 Hawaii Supreme Court decision that found state courts have jurisdiction over a lawsuit from Honolulu that accuses oil majors of contributing to climate change by deceiving consumers about the dangers of burning fossil fuels.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”