GOP States, Trump Admin And Energy Sector To Ask For Dismissal Of Climate Change Lawsuits
Lawsuits accusing some of the world’s biggest oil companies of causing climate change face a crucial test Thursday, when a federal judge in California hears arguments on whether to dismiss cases brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland.
The lawsuits against ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips present novel legal theories conceived largely by private attorneys who hope to earn contingency fees if they win. The practice of allowing private lawyers to enrich themselves through public litigation is controversial enough, but the lawsuits also have divided governments, with Democratic-leaning states and cities like San Francisco, Boulder, CO, and New York in favor, and Republican states and the Trump administration opposed.
Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge William Alsup asked the U.S. to supply its opinion on the lawsuits. In a May 10 amicus brief, the federal government said they “violate constitutional separation of powers issues” and present policy questions that can’t be resolved in court.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the Environmental Protection Agency has the sole power to regulate greenhouse gases, the feds say, and the cities are as guilty as the companies they are suing.
“Under the cities own theory, innumerable foreign, federal, state and local governments — including the cities themselves — have contributed to the alleged harms,” the government says in its brief. “So has anyone who has ever driven a car.”
The plaintiffs appear to face tough odds, since both the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, whose rulings Judge Alsup must follow, have dismissed similar lawsuits seeking money from companies accused of causing global warming.
Those lawsuits were against the emitters of greenhouse gases, however. In this latest round of litigation, lawyers went after the producers of hydrocarbon fuels, under the theory they have caused a “public nuisance” by knowingly selling products that cause global warming when they are burned.
