The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined an appeal by energy companies to review Honolulu’s climate lawsuit that seeks billions of dollars from oil and gas companies for alleged damages of climate change, thus, allowing the case to move forward. So, what does this mean?
- This is not an endorsement of climate litigation by SCOTUS.
It’s important to remember that the court’s reticence to weigh in at this time is not an endorsement of climate litigation, and this issue could still return to the justices at a later point in the litigation.
As InsideEPA reports, a ClearView Energy Partners analysis indicates that the “Supreme Court may still yet be the final word on the merits of the climate liability cases several years from now.”
SCOTUS’ choice to not intervene at this juncture may be because they would prefer to weigh in after a trial court reaches a full judgement, rather than on an appeal of a motion to dismiss. And when that time comes, even as the Biden administration’s solicitor general recently admitted, the cases may run into serious obstacles:
“To be sure, petitioners may ultimately prevail on their contention that respondents’ claims are barred by the Constitution …” (emphasis added)
Read the full post at EIDClimate.org.
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