Supreme Court allows Honolulu lawsuit against oil companies to proceed

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by oil companies to dismiss a lawsuit by the city of Honolulu seeking to hold them responsible for the impacts of climate change.

The defendants — Sunoco, Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron — argued the lawsuit had no standing in state court and could only proceed under federal law. The state Supreme Court had earlier rejected this argument, noting that the case argues on deceptive marketing grounds rather than seeking to restrict interstate commerce.

The conservative-majority court rejected a similar appeal from oil companies in a lawsuit by cities in Colorado, Maryland, California, Hawaii and Rhode Island in 2023. However, the court also previously sided against a similar lawsuit from the city of Baltimore on procedural grounds.

The court has also repeatedly sided against the Biden administration on energy and environmental issues, notably against a mandate for power plants to transition to renewable energy and a rule regulating interstate air pollution.

Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in deliberations over whether to take up the case. Such recusals are not typically explained in the court’s orders but it is likely related to Alito’s ownership of oil stocks. The justice similarly sat out discussions on the earlier appeal the court rejected.

Before deciding whether to take up the appeal, the court had requested feedback from the Biden administration, which asked the court to reject the oil companies’ appeals.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) hailed the move in a statement Monday. “The people of Honolulu are demonstrating remarkable leadership in standing up to powerful fossil fuel companies whose disinformation campaigns have directly contributed to the climate harms they now face,” Delta Merner, lead scientist for UCS’s Science Hub for Climate Litigation, said in a statement. “Their efforts serve as a powerful example for communities around the world. This decision is one step in a larger effort to seek accountability and justice.”

The Hill has reached out to the oil companies for comment.

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