Jeff Goodell writes:

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Suncor Energy, Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, a case that could give fossil fuel companies a get-out-of-jail-free card for the harms caused by climate change.

That is not exactly how Kannon Shanmugam — who represents Suncor and Exxon Mobil, another petitioner in the case — framed the argument. He said that dozens of active lawsuits that use state tort law to sue fossil fuel companies for damages because of their role in causing climate change are superseded by federal law. “This case and others like it reflect an all-too-regrettable trend of trying to resolve political issues in court, rather than leaving them to the political branches where they belong,” Mr. Shanmugam argued.

If the justices agree, the lawsuits filed in state courts will likely be dismissed. If that were to happen, it would not be a big surprise. The court has made any kind of regulatory structure or legal action on climate very difficult. Indeed, the Roberts court is the place where climate action goes to die.

Right now, more than 20 civil lawsuits have been filed in state courts by municipalities that attempt to hold the industry responsible for climate damages. Two tribes have filed similar lawsuits. Eleven state attorneys general are pursuing consumer fraud and related claims against the industry. All in all, several cases are now in the discovery phase and moving toward trial. In addition, Vermont recently passed a climate superfund law that, if it survives court challenges, could force fossil fuel companies to pay an assessment for climate damages. In Washington State, the first wrongful death lawsuit against fossil fuel companies is moving forward. The plaintiff is asking the courts to hold the companies liable for the death of a 65-year-old woman, Juliana Leon, who died in her car during a 108-degree heat wave.

Most of these lawsuits were not filed by tattooed, vegan anticapitalists, but by sober-minded public officials desperate for money to repair sea walls, fight more intense wildfires and prepare their cities for a hotter world. Many are motivated by a lesson that many of us learned when we were children: You break it, you fix it. Why shouldn’t that apply to fossil fuel companies whose products have ruptured the climate?

The Supreme Court’s decision in Suncor v. Boulder, depending on how broadly it is written, could kill many, if not all, of these cases. If it does, it could save fossil fuel companies hundreds of billions of dollars in damages and punitive awards and help them avoid high-profile courtroom showdowns in which they are cast as greedy, deceptive planet wreckers.

If that happens, it will not signal the end of accountability. In fact, the age of accountability for the fossil fuel industry has just begun and has a bright future. The reason for that is the emergence of a powerful field of climate science known as attribution science. [Continue reading…]