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Supremes allow Hawaii to have its day in court on climate [1]

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Date: 2025-01-13

I know no one clicks on good news here but this seems huge (from Reuters):

U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by Sunoco and other oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate change induced by the burning of fossil fuels. Thedeclined on Monday to hear a bid by Sunocoand other oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate change induced by the burning of fossil fuels. The justices turned away an appeal by the oil companies of a decision by Hawaii's top court allowing the suit, which alleged violations of state law, to proceed. Other defendants in the lawsuit include Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, BHP Group, Marathon Petroleum and Chevron.

Basically, Honolulu is allowed to proceed with a lawsuit on the premise that:

misleading statements made by the companies about the impact of their fossil fuel products paved the way for property and infrastructure damage caused by human-induced climate change.

Historically, large settlements against companies that have hidden massive damage behind a smokescreen of seductive advertising are fairly rare, but one — the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement — has had a long tail of impact (for example tobacco settlement funds still come to North Carolina, totalling billions over the decades since the settlement, and provide resources for business development). Could a class action by states and localities have a similar long term impact against the much more threatening problem of climate change? This decision may mean that we’re free to find out.

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