Climate deadlines collide with politics as Dem-led states chase Big Oil in court but spare local refiners
Several Democrat-led states are facing conflicting forces in their efforts to transition to 100% green power, as leaders try to shore up the power grid while other officials sue fossil...
By Fox News · Fox News
Several Democrat-led states are facing conflicting forces in their efforts to transition to 100% green power, as leaders try to shore up the power grid while other officials sue fossil fuel companies in the same light activists did to tobacco firms in the 1990s. In that decade, dozens of states sued tobacco giants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, alleging they knowingly endangered public health and misled consumers about nicotine’s addictiveness. The cases culminated in a $200 billion "master settlement" in 1998 that banned billboard advertising and reshaped corporate liability in the industry. Today, several jurisdictions in Colorado are suing ExxonMobil and Suncor in a similar fashion, accusing them of knowing their product harms the environment and public health. Boulder, Colorado, along with Boulder County and San Miguel County received the blessing of the Colorado Supreme Court in May to move forward with their suit, and officials claimed the energy companies "greatly contributed to an altered climate." SUPREME COURT MUST FREEZE THE CLIMATE EXTORTION OF OUR ENERGY INDUSTRY "This case seeks to hold these companies responsible for knowingly contributing to climate change while concealing the dangers of their products," Boulder city officials said in a statement. According to a release from Boulder City, Coloradans could face hundreds of millions of dollars in added costs needed to "adapt" to a climate changed by continued reliance on such companies. ExxonMobil countered that federal law preempts Colorado’s authority to apply state law to the alleged injuries. "We’ve maintained from the beginning this case is meritless and has no place before a state court," the company said in an emailed statement to Climate in the Courts . NEWSOM PUSHES CLIMATE RECORD ABROAD AS CALIFORNIANS SHOULDER AMERICA’S HIGHEST GAS COSTS Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis set a 2040 goal for moving the Centennial State away from fossil fuels, but was questioned by critics for trying to…