Honolulu’s lawsuit against major oil companies, alleging decades of deception regarding climate change risks, will proceed following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to decline the companies’ appeal. This ruling allows the city to pursue its claims of property and infrastructure damage caused by fossil fuel-induced climate change under state law.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020 by the city and county of Honolulu and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, targets industry giants including Sunoco, Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, BHP Group, Marathon Petroleum, and Chevron. The plaintiffs contend that these companies knowingly misled the public about the consequences of burning fossil fuels, leading to significant financial burdens for the city. Honolulu seeks unspecified monetary damages to address the costs associated with climate change impacts.
Specific damages cited in the lawsuit include the strain on Honolulu’s electrical grid due to climate change-related heat waves and the need for costly retrofits to a wastewater treatment plant to combat rising sea levels. These adaptations are projected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The suit alleges that the defendants were aware of the detrimental effects of greenhouse gas emissions from their products for over 50 years but actively concealed the dangers and promoted misinformation to bolster their profits.
Ben Sullivan, an official with Honolulu’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, praised the Supreme Court’s decision as a victory for the people of Honolulu and a crucial step towards holding the oil companies accountable for the financial repercussions of the climate crisis. He emphasized the importance of enforcing local laws to protect taxpayers and communities.
This lawsuit aligns with a broader trend of U.S. jurisdictions seeking compensation from fossil fuel companies for their contribution to climate change. The plaintiffs argue that instead of mitigating the damage or warning the public, the oil companies engaged in deceptive campaigns to promote continued fossil fuel consumption. The lawsuit details how rising sea levels are projected to cause significant flooding, erosion, and beach loss along Honolulu’s Pacific coastline, in addition to an increase in extreme weather events.
The oil companies had argued that federal law preempted the state law claims, asserting that regulating interstate emissions and commerce falls under federal jurisdiction. However, Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Crabtree initially dismissed this argument, and the Hawaii Supreme Court subsequently upheld the ruling in October 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent refusal to hear the case marks the latest legal setback for the oil companies. A previous attempt to move the case to federal court was also rejected by the Supreme Court in April 2023.
This ongoing legal battle underscores the growing efforts to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for the economic and environmental consequences of climate change. The outcome of the Honolulu lawsuit could set a precedent for similar cases across the nation.
