In a ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court declined a request by Republican-led states to block lawsuits filed by a coalition of Democratic-led states aiming to hold oil and gas companies accountable for their contributions to climate change.
The decision leaves the five blue states—California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island—free to pursue their claims in state court.
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The lawsuits, filed between 2018 and 2023, broadly accuse the energy industry of knowingly misrepresenting the dangers of fossil fuel use, thereby misleading consumers and contributing to escalating greenhouse gas emissions.
The Democratic-led states allege that the oil and gas companies engaged in deceptive marketing practices, which ultimately spurred higher consumption of fossil fuels, exacerbating climate change.
The Republican-led states, including Alabama and 18 others, argued that the state-court actions intrude on federally regulated interstate activity and risk imposing “massive” penalties that could disrupt the national energy system.
They petitioned the Supreme Court to exercise its original jurisdiction over disputes between states, seeking to block these lawsuits and prevent similar litigation in the future.
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In a pointed dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, criticized the majority for “assum[ing] a power to summarily turn away suits between states” for policy reasons.
“Our exclusive original jurisdiction over suits between states reflects a determination by the Framers and by Congress about the need ‘to open and keep open the highest court of the nation’ for such suits, in recognition of the ‘rank and dignity of the states,’” Thomas wrote in his dissent. “Yet, this court has — essentially for policy reasons — assumed a power to reject a suit involving nearly half the states in the nation, which alleges serious constitutional violations.”
The attorneys general for the Democratic-led states countered that their enforcement actions target local harms resulting from allegedly unlawful conduct by the energy companies.
They maintained that even if the state-court actions are successful, states like Alabama will remain free to pursue their own energy policy goals.
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“Accurately understood, the state enforcement actions that Alabama targets do not intrude on the sovereign prerogatives of Alabama or any other state,” the brief from the blue states argued.
This ruling follows a similar decision in January, where the Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from 15 oil and gas companies, including Sunono and Shell, seeking to shut down a lawsuit filed by the city of Honolulu over climate change-related harms.
As the case continues in state courts, the decision underscores the ongoing tension between federalism and state-led efforts to address the impacts of climate change. The outcome of these lawsuits could have sweeping implications for environmental regulation and the accountability of the energy industry across the nation.
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