Two dozen entities that have urged the Supreme Court to bar climate lawsuits have deep links to the oil and gas companies being targeted in the cases.
A survey released Monday by the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog found that 25 of the 38 individuals and organizations that have filed friend of the court briefs on behalf of the industry have financial ties or other connections to the fossil fuel companies that are facing billions of dollars in potential damages for contributing to climate change. The report argues that many of briefs make “nearly identical legal arguments.”
“The fossil fuel industry wants the Supreme Court to believe there’s a broad, independent movement supporting Exxon and Suncor,” said Jamie Court, president of Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog. “Follow the money and you understand it’s a fossil-fuel-funded and interconnected echo chamber.”
The report came as the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in the blockbuster climate showdown, Suncor v. Boulder, on Oct. 5 — the opening day of its new term. The justices will weigh whether federal law or the Constitution bars local governments from suing fossil fuel companies for costs associated with climate change.
