Republican attorneys general in 19 states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block several Democratic-led states from pursuing climate change lawsuits against the oil and gas industry in their own state courts. The unusual request comes as dozens of states and local governments have filed lawsuits alleging that fossil fuel companies deceived the public about the risks of their products contributing to climate change.
” The California attorney general's office on Friday denounced the Republican request to the Supreme Court as meritless and vowed to continue its case against oil and gas companies. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong derided it as “pure partisan political theater.” And Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the Republican effort “absurd,' noting the U.S. Supreme Court already has allowed the state's case to proceed in a Minnesota court.