Latest Posts › Fossil Fuel

Share:

Trump Administration Files Preemptive Lawsuits Against Hawaii and Michigan to Block Climate Change Litigation

Recently, both the State of Hawaii and the State of Michigan had announced that they would be pursuing litigation against fossil fuel companies concerning alleged damages stemming from the companies' contribution to climate...more

Red State AGs Sue New York State in Challenge to Climate Change Superfund Act

In December 2024, the State of New York enacted the “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which would impose retroactive fines on fossil fuel producers for greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. (New York was...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — January 2025

Regulatory Updates - There have been a couple of noteworthy developments in recent weeks concerning the mandatory climate disclosure regime enacted by California. These developments relate to SB 253 and SB 261, which...more

Maine Sues Major Fossil Fuel Companies

Last week, the State of Maine became the latest state or local government to sue the major fossil fuel companies for damages related to climate change. There are around three dozen lawsuits bringing common law and state tort...more

Dutch Appeals Court Rules That Shell Does Not Need to Reduce Its CO2 Emissions by Specific Amount

Three years ago, a court in the Netherlands had ruled that Shell--a multinational fossil fuel company based in the Netherlands--had the obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by forty-five percent by 2030, relative...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — November 2024

Despite the recent disbandment of the SEC’s Climate & ESG Task Force, the SEC is continuing to pursue enforcement actions concerning environmental issues, including greenwashing. Notably, over the past several weeks, the SEC...more

State Court Rules California Has Jurisdiction Over Fossil Fuel Companies In Connection With Climate Change Lawsuits

Over the past several years, there have been more than three dozen lawsuits launched against the major fossil fuel companies seeking damages due to climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. These claims are based...more

Hawaii Supreme Court Rules That Insurance Policies Do Not Cover Fossil Fuel Companies' Climate Change Damages Caused by Greenhouse...

This week, the Hawaii Supreme Court--in response to certified questions of law from the federal district court in Hawaii--held that the insurance policies purchased by fossil fuel companies in Hawaii would not provide...more

Connecticut Lawsuit Against Major Fossil Fuel Company Survives Motion to Dismiss

A couple of weeks ago, a lawsuit brought by the State of Connecticut against a major fossil fuel company, alleging various violations of the consumer protection laws in Connecticut (specifically, the Connecticut Unfair Trade...more

State Court Dismisses Climate Change Tort Lawsuit

About a month ago, one of the myriad climate change tort lawsuits brought by state and local governments against major fossil fuel producers was dismissed by a state court judge in Baltimore, Maryland. (These lawsuits have...more

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates – August 2024

Regulatory Updates - Governor Newsom (D-CA) recently proposed a two-year delay to California’s sweeping new mandatory climate disclosures, which apply to all large companies—public or private—doing business in California....more

Puerto Rico Launches Climate Tort Lawsuit Against Fossil Fuel Companies

Puerto Rico has become the latest governmental entity to launch a lawsuit against the major fossil fuel companies concerning tort claims related to climate change. These lawsuits have proliferated in state courts in recent...more

Another Major European Bank Withdraws From Fossil Fuel Financing

Credit Agricole SA, the second-largest bank in France, will no longer participate in fossil fuel financing. Specifically, a spokesperson for this bank stated that it would “no longer participate in bond issuances for oil and...more

Republican AGs Seek Intervention of U.S. Supreme Court to Block Climate Change Lawsuits filed by Blue States Against Fossil Fuel...

A coalition of Republican state attorneys-general representing nineteen states (Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South...more

Michigan AG Announces Intent to Pursue Climate Change Tort Litigation Against the Fossil Fuel Industry

Last week, the Attorney General of Michigan announced that her office “will begin seeking proposals from attorneys and law firms . . . to pursue litigation related to the climate change impacts caused by the fossil fuel...more

Major European Bank Withdraws From Fossil Fuel Financing

This week, “BNP Paribas SA, the European Union's biggest bank” stated that it “is no longer participating in conventional bond issuance for” “oil and gas producers.”  In essence, BNP Paribas has announced that it will cease...more

Fifth Circuit Upholds (For Now) SEC Rules Concerning ESG Proxy Votes

On May 10, 2024, the Fifth Circuit rejected an attempt by the States of Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Utah to invalidate an SEC rule “requiring funds to disclose their votes on environmental, social, and governance...more

Oklahoma Judge Temporarily Blocks Law Penalizing Companies Engaged in Fossil Fuel Boycott

Earlier this week, a state court judge in Oklahoma issued a temporary restraining order that blocks--for now--enforcement of an Oklahoma law that deprives companies deemed to boycott the fossil fuel industry of the ability to...more

Significant Rise in Global Climate Litigation

As recently reported by Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, “the number of climate-related cases filed globally each year has increased from a handful in the early 2000s to a few hundred annually since...more

Ninth Circuit Orders Dismissal of Constitutional Climate Litigation Case

Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit issued an order dismissing the Juliana litigation. In this case, the plaintiffs had asserted that the government had knowingly violated their due process rights by encouraging and permitting the...more

Delaware Court Significantly Limits the State of Delaware's Climate Change Lawsuit Against Major Fossil Fuel Companies

On January 9, 2024, a Delaware state court judge issued his opinion on the various motions to dismiss filed in the case brought by the State of Delaware against the major fossil fuel companies. (This case is one of...more

Supreme Court Rejects Efforts By Fossil Fuel Companies to Litigate Climate Change Issues in Federal Court

Today, the Supreme Court denied the writ of certiorari filed by the major oil companies in a pair of significant climate change cases. Specifically, the fossil fuel companies had sought review of a decision by the Third...more

President Biden Issues First Veto to Protect ESG Investing

Today, President Biden issued the first veto of his presidency. This action had been heavily telegraphed in advance and was widely expected. Nonetheless, this veto is extraordinarily significant....more

Texas AG Bars Major Bank from Underwriting Municipal Bond Offerings in Texas Due to Alleged Discrimination Against Firearms...

Last week, it was reported that the Texas Attorney General would "not approve any public security" which was purchased or issued by a major bank due to alleged discrimination against the firearms sector. In 2021, Texas had...more

40 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide