A California judge has delivered a major victory to the state of California and local governments that are suing the oil and gas industry over the effects of climate change.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Ethan Schulman of the Superior Court of San Francisco County sided with the governments that want to put major oil producers on trial in state court, accusing them of misleading consumers about the dangers of burning fossil fuels.
The ruling is the latest in a yearslong tug-of-war between local governments in more than two dozen states and the oil industry, which has pushed to have the cases dismissed or moved to federal court, where they are more likely to be quashed.
Schulman wrote that the companies’ main argument to dismiss the cases is that they are based on “worldwide conduct and worldwide harm” from climate change.
