The Supreme Court has given a fresh boost to state, county and city officials looking to hold the oil and gas industry financially accountable for its contributions to climate change.
In an order issued Monday, the justices declined to take up the fossil fuel industry’s claims that lawsuits asking companies to help communities foot the bill for rising tides and worsening storms pose a threat to a sector that is “vital to economic and national security.”
The high court’s denial — with no justices signaling a dissent — is “bad news” for the oil industry, which currently faces 28 active climate liability lawsuits, some of which are likely to go to trial, said Michael Gerrard, faculty director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
“These trials will attract considerable attention to the oil companies’ bad behavior in fomenting climate denial,” Gerrard said.
