{"id":253570,"date":"2023-04-18T20:07:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T18:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=253570"},"modified":"2023-04-18T20:08:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T18:08:12","slug":"more-federal-climate-lawfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=253570","title":{"rendered":"More Federal Climate Lawfare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Todd Rokita, AG Indiana, asks in his Newsweek article Why Did The U.S. Solicitor General Flip-Flop on Climate Change?<\/strong> <\/a>Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a case called Suncor Energy Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar<\/strong> recently told the Supreme Court that climate-change cases should be heard not in federal courts, but in deep-blue, progressive state courts.  <\/strong>Calling this proposal politically opportunistic would be an understatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixteen states disagree, as we have made known through a brief
filed by my office. Federal law should govern this and similar cases,
according to legal precedent.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My office always stands for the rule of law and fights for it in the courtroom. This case is no different, as it\u00a0represents a sharp departure<\/strong>\u00a0from the Justice Department\u2019s longstanding view\u00a0that global climate change is a federal issue that belongs in federal court.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The jurisdictional issue may seem mundane, but\u00a0the stakes are high.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>At a time when energy costs already burden hardworking families,\u00a0environmental activists insist on banning cost-efficient, safe energy production practices<\/strong>.\u00a0Unable to push their environmental agenda through\u00a0Congress<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0they have turned to a series of multi-billion-dollar\u00a0lawsuits against energy companies in state courts<\/strong>\u00a0across the country alleging that state and local governments suffer harm from climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The central claims<\/strong> of these cases are that fossil fuel extraction imposes net harm on the world, leading to climate change, and that energy production and promotion are a \u201cpublic nuisance\u201d for which energy companies must pay.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal courts would undoubtedly reject these claims, which is why activists
are fighting to keep their claims in front of their favorite state courts.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Office of the Solicitor General had previously<\/strong> taken a stand against such gamesmanship,<\/strong> recognizing that climate change claims are inherently federal. But the current solicitor general\u2019s abrupt departure from that position confirms that politics has replaced law in her office.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solicitor general<\/strong> represents the United States before the Supreme Court and is the only federal officer required by statute to be \u201clearned in the law\u201d<\/strong>\u2014a high calling. Past solicitors general described their obligation to speak \u201con behalf of the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court relies on<\/strong>\u00a0the solicitor general to be\u00a0a non-partisan, trustworthy representative and interpreter of the law<\/strong>. In the\u00a0words<\/a>\u00a0of Seth P. Waxman, solicitor general during the Clinton administration, this \u201cspecial relationship to the Court is not one of privilege, but of duty\u201d\u2014a duty that includes an obligation \u201cto respect and honor the principle of stare decisis,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0meaning consistency over time\u00a0regardless of the political interests of the current administration.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Interstate environmental issues,<\/strong> especially those relating to air pollution and climate change, have long been governed by federal law and resolved by federal courts. <\/strong>  In 2011, the Supreme Court reaffirmed<\/a> it \u201cwould be inappropriate\u201d to apply state law to claims<\/strong> arising from transboundary greenhouse-gas emissions and climate change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This makes good sense.\u00a0Greenhouse gas emissions inherently transcend state borders<\/strong>\u2014the term, after all, is \u201cglobal climate change\u201d not \u201cBoulder County climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court has recognized<\/a> that allowing state courts to interfere with federal regulation of energy production<\/strong> and emissions would \u201cundermine the important goals of efficiency and predictability\u201d and \u201clead to chaotic confrontation between sovereign states.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Office of the Solicitor General has embraced this position\u00a0for decades, and solicitors general appointed by presidents from both parties have defended it<\/strong>\u2014including left-wing\u00a0Democrats<\/a>\u00a0who used climate change as part of their political platform.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So, in 2022, when the Supreme Court asked the Office of the Solicitor General if lawsuits seeking damages for climate change implicate state or federal issues, and whether they should proceed in state or federal court, the answer should have been simple<\/strong>. But the solicitor general instead said these cases should proceed in state court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This flip-flop lacks credible explanation.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, the solicitor general seems to be acting for special interests and attempting<\/strong> to fix President Joe Biden<\/a>\u2018s failure to achieve the climate change outcomes he promised.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps, instead of \u201clearned in law,\u201d the current solicitor general is
\u201clearned in politics.\u201d My office refuses to stand idly by without a fight.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnote:\u00a0 SCOTUS is expected to hear arguments on this issue later this month.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal courts would undoubtedly reject these claims, which is why activists
\nare fighting to keep their claims in front of their favorite state courts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":253587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691818671,691818670],"class_list":{"0":"post-253570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-federal-climate-lawfare","10":"tag-supreme-court","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00INGSOC_George_Orwell_1984.jpg?fit=1366%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-13XQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":437531,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=437531","url_meta":{"origin":253570,"position":0},"title":"Environmentalists are fighting our living standards in court","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/04\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Environmental groups and climate-obsessed local governments are waging aggressive climate lawfare across America \u2014 using lawsuits to bypass Congress, the U.N.\u2019s stalled global schemes, Trump administration policies, and Supreme Court rulings. They are determined to impose their anti-fossil-fuel agenda on the rest of us and hammer our living standards.","rel":"","context":"In \"\u201cexistential threat\u201d\"","block_context":{"text":"\u201cexistential threat\u201d","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=existential-threat-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AQM0SspDECHjjNqF5UQrL7NonKoWyKhxNrtMZnqDVMBQRa3Wf4WcOHCwJ_kmphwXgEBOlA0_j1kZ-gPAOtMwrrg7rEY1Vejvcd9pxjQwol68gLgpm7EdrlLQheYWYLOr8KbtLRBXl9v6WN3VkU-IlAWR6_zmPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AQM0SspDECHjjNqF5UQrL7NonKoWyKhxNrtMZnqDVMBQRa3Wf4WcOHCwJ_kmphwXgEBOlA0_j1kZ-gPAOtMwrrg7rEY1Vejvcd9pxjQwol68gLgpm7EdrlLQheYWYLOr8KbtLRBXl9v6WN3VkU-IlAWR6_zmPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AQM0SspDECHjjNqF5UQrL7NonKoWyKhxNrtMZnqDVMBQRa3Wf4WcOHCwJ_kmphwXgEBOlA0_j1kZ-gPAOtMwrrg7rEY1Vejvcd9pxjQwol68gLgpm7EdrlLQheYWYLOr8KbtLRBXl9v6WN3VkU-IlAWR6_zmPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AQM0SspDECHjjNqF5UQrL7NonKoWyKhxNrtMZnqDVMBQRa3Wf4WcOHCwJ_kmphwXgEBOlA0_j1kZ-gPAOtMwrrg7rEY1Vejvcd9pxjQwol68gLgpm7EdrlLQheYWYLOr8KbtLRBXl9v6WN3VkU-IlAWR6_zmPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AQM0SspDECHjjNqF5UQrL7NonKoWyKhxNrtMZnqDVMBQRa3Wf4WcOHCwJ_kmphwXgEBOlA0_j1kZ-gPAOtMwrrg7rEY1Vejvcd9pxjQwol68gLgpm7EdrlLQheYWYLOr8KbtLRBXl9v6WN3VkU-IlAWR6_zmPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":416620,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=416620","url_meta":{"origin":253570,"position":1},"title":"Supreme Court should not let climate lawfare set U.S. energy policy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Climate lawfare is a Big Business. 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