ABSTRACT
As climate change and its attendant costs accelerate, a pressing issue is who should pay for the costs of disaster response and adaptation. The US Global Change Research Program’s Fifth National Climate Assessment (2023) finds that extreme climate events cost the US nearly $150 billion each year, a calculation that doesn’t account for loss of life, healthcare-related costs, and damages to ecosystem services. According to a new study by two economists, climate change costs the world 12% in GDP for every 1°C temperature rise.
In response, state, tribal, territorial, and local governments have brought more than 40 cases against oil companies in both state and federal courts for damages caused by climate change. This article provides an overview of the claims the plaintiffs are asserting, the defenses the oil companies are raising, the key decisions to date, and what to expect going forward.
Governmental climate damage litigation has thus far proceeded through two rounds. In round one, the federal courts uniformly rejected the oil companies’ attempts to remove the cases from state to federal court. In round two, the state courts have so far denied motions to dismiss the cases based on federal preemption and other grounds, with one exception. Whether there will be a round three, with some cases moving to trial in the near term, is an open question.
Dernbach, John C and Parenteau, Patrick A, Who Pays for Damage from Climate Change? (November 13, 2024), Widener Law Commonwealth Research Paper 24-15, Natural Resources and Environment; ABA Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, forthcoming 2025.
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