The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by Republican-led states to block lawsuits brought by Democratic-led states seeking to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate change. The court’s decision to stay out of the dispute allows California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island to pursue lawsuits filed against the energy industry in their respective state courts. The states claim that oil and gas companies engaged in deceptive marketing by misrepresenting the dangers of their products.

Alabama and 18 other red states went to the Supreme Court and urged it to exercise its original jurisdiction over disputes between states, and also asked the high court to block the civil suits filed by the blue states.

“If defendant states are right about the substance and reach of state law, their actions imperil access to affordable energy everywhere and inculpate every state and indeed every person on the planet,” the red states wrote. “Consequently, defendant states threaten not only our system of federalism and equal sovereignty among States, but our basic way of life.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has gutted federal climate efforts and given a major boost to the fossil fuel industry. He has abandoned efforts to reduce global warming at a time when scientists are increasingly warning that the phenomenon is driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels. On Inauguration Day, Trump withdrew the United Statesfrom the Paris climate agreement for the second time, with the U.S. the only nation to withdraw from the climate pact.

Ironically, climate change is making it costlier for oil and gas companies to operate. Indeed, climate-related?supply threats have already begun to manifest in the oil and gas industry, with more than 600 billion barrels equivalent of the world’s commercially recoverable oil and gas reserves, or 40% of total reserves,  facing high or extreme risks. According to UK-based global risk and strategic consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft, the risk of climate-related events disrupting the flow of oil to global markets is highest in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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