RealClear Energy Op-Ed: The Solicitor General’s Curious Case Against Judicial Efficiency

By Phil Goldberg

When the U.S. Supreme Court meets on Friday for its first conference of the year, the justices are scheduled to discuss whether to hear objections to one of many climate lawsuits being waged against America’s energy producers. The meeting comes on the heels of last month’s Biden administration briefing urging the Court not to hear the case. Although this development was expected, what was surprising is how willingly Biden’s solicitor general acknowledged the fundamental flaw with the litigation.

The lawsuit at issue here was filed by the City and County of Honolulu and is part of a 20-year litigation campaign trying to subject various energy companies to liability for global climate change. Today, there are roughly three dozen local and state governments around the country that are bringing similar cases—all alleging that some aspect of the production, promotion and sale of energy violates their state’s law. Some governments seek fines; others, including Honolulu, are trying to make energy companies pay for local infrastructure projects they say are needed to mitigate the impact of climate change in their areas.

Read the full op-ed here.