The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to take up a case that has one side claiming a “hyper-ideological” Hawaii court is threatening to “strong-arm progressive lifestyle choices” on Americans nationwide by blessing a lawsuit aimed at holding some of the biggest fossil fuel companies liable for climate change.
In 2020, the city of Honolulu sued several major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon and Chevron, claiming the companies’ products cause greenhouse gas emissions and global warming without warning consumers about the risks.
The city employed a series of state laws like public nuisance and trespass measures and said the companies should pay billions to the state to abate the effects of climate change like weather events, sea level rise, heat waves, flooding and global warming generally.
The energy companies appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Court, arguing federal law prevents individual states from effectively shaping energy policies for all states.
But that court disagreed and ruled that the case should advance to trial. One justice said “the Aloha Spirit inspires constitutional interpretation.”
BIG OIL COMPANIES ASK SUPREME COURT TO INTERVENE IN HIGH-STAKES CLIMATE CASE
A view of the skyline of the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
Consumer and legal experts told Fox News Digital they hope the U.S. Supreme Court will step in to avoid “compounding impacts on everyday Americans,” should the case progress to “giant judgments” on oil corporations.
O.H. Skinner,…
