Supreme Court Deals Blow to Oil Companies Being Sued for Climate Change

The Supreme Court declined to hear appeals by major oil companies to move climate-change lawsuits against them from state to federal courts, with the latter being far more skeptical of such suits.

Oil companies such as Chevron Corporation and Shell Corporation are facing a wave of public-nuisance lawsuits across the country alleging varied environmental harms from the emissions of greenhouse gases. Some of the plaintiffs include the State of Rhode Island, the City of Baltimore, and Boulder County, Colo.

The state and local plaintiffs were backed by the Biden administration in seeking to keep the lawsuits in state courts, a reversal from the Trump administration’s position. The state-level litigation represents a major threat to the oil industry and has been likened to state litigation filed against tobacco companies in the 1990s and more recent cases against pharmaceutical companies accused of fueling the opioid epidemic.

An example of such a case is Baltimore’s 2018 suit filed in Maryland state court, in which the city said it has suffered climate-change-related injuries from rising sea levels and extreme weather. The city is seeking to recover monetary damages from companies who have allegedly contributed to climate change and misled the public.