In an op-ed published recently in the Duluth News Tribune, MAP Special Counsel Phil Goldberg argues that lawsuits against energy manufacturers for climate change damages—such as the one brought by the Minnesota attorney general—are misguided, instead advocating for an innovative approach to fighting this complex, global challenge. Goldberg highlights the progress achieved by American manufacturers and encourages elected leaders to choose collaboration in their search for meaningful solutions.

Here are some excerpts:

• “There is only one meaningful way to achieve the changes we need, and it happens to be what America has always excelled at: innovation. We need our elected and business leaders to focus like a laser on developing the technologies needed to protect people and our planet. Innovation, along with the entrepreneurism it inspires, defines America. It is what has given us our quality of life, taken us to the moon, and spurred the internet and technological revolution, among so much more.”

• “This litigation blame game is a counterproductive distraction. It is also expensive for every person, family, and business. If these lawsuits are successful, each person’s energy bills will go up by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year. Many people cannot afford these costs, particularly when even the lawyers and politicians behind these lawsuits fully acknowledge the litigation will do nothing to solve climate change.”

• “In a unanimous ruling authored by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court said that setting national energy policy to account for climate change is not a liability issue for the courts but a complex matter of ‘national legislative’ concern. Congress and the EPA are ‘better equipped to do (this) job than individual district judges issuing ad hoc, case-by-case’ decisions. Today’s lawsuits are no different. They are not really about legal theories but political tactics. In fact, some of the political interests behind the litigation are actually paying the salaries of the two lawyers they placed in the Minnesota Attorney General’s office that filed the state’s lawsuit.”

• “America must unite behind today’s critical climate mission. This is no time for political score-settling. Climate change is a global issue that everyone contributes to; we must all come together in search of meaningful solutions if we want to make progress and protect our communities. We simply cannot sue our way out of climate change. Innovation is the right, only, and proven path forward.”

You can read the entire op-ed here.