Climate Lawfare Is a Terrible Tactic

For as long as the Constitution has stood as a stumbling block to them, would-be tyrants have been searching for creative end runs around it. The latest example of such an evasion is in climate policy. Aided by left-wing state governments and litigators, progressive activists are attempting to circumvent the democratic process by suing oil and gas into submission, rather than enacting their policy goals via legislation.

A pending court case, Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, takes this issue head on. The Supreme Court has yet to officially agree to hear the case, but the justices have asked the Biden administration’s solicitor general to provide her opinion, signaling that the Court is seriously considering it. The basic issue of Suncor v. Boulder is one of jurisdiction — i.e., whether the preponderance of frivolous lawsuits against oil companies alleging “climate-related harms,” which now number well over a thousand, that have been filed by blue-state government attorneys should be heard in state or federal courts. State courts, in these heavily Democratic jurisdictions, are much more likely to be sympathetic to the plaintiffs; federal courts, which have a more conservative skew, are more open to ruling in the oil companies’ favor.

About the Author

Nate Hochman

Nate Hochman was a staff writer at National Review.

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For as long as the Constitution has stood as a stumbling block to them, would-be tyrants have been searching for creative end runs around it. The latest example of such an evasion is in climate policy. Aided by left-wing state governments and litigators, progressive activists are attempting to circumvent the democratic process by suing oil and gas into submission, rather than enacting their policy goals via legislation.

A pending court case, Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, takes this issue head on. The Supreme Court has yet to officially agree to hear the case, but the justices have asked the Biden administration’s solicitor general to provide her opinion, signaling that the Court is seriously considering it. The basic issue of Suncor v. Boulder is one of jurisdiction — i.e., whether the preponderance of frivolous lawsuits against oil companies alleging “climate-related harms,” which now number well over a thousand, that have been filed by blue-state government attorneys should be heard in state or federal courts. State courts, in these heavily Democratic jurisdictions, are much more likely to be sympathetic to the plaintiffs; federal courts, which have a more conservative skew, are more open to ruling in the oil companies’ favor.