Washington, D.C. — Phil Goldberg, Special Counsel for the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project, issued the following statement ahead of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals oral arguments in Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. BP PLC:

“The Fourth Circuit should recognize that this case does not belong in state courts. Baltimore’s claims may be creatively packaged under state law, but the nature of climate change, this litigation and the remedies they seek are all inherently beyond the scope of any state. Figuring out how to mitigate climate change—both globally and locally—is a federal legislative and regulatory matter that must not be decided piecemeal by state judges based on a narrow set of facts and interests. Federal judges have understood this and repeatedly rejected these cases, which is why the architects behind this litigation campaign are doing everything they can to avoid the federal courts. Their efforts to game the legal system should not be allowed to proceed.”