Supreme Court denies oil companies' appeals in climate cases

The Supreme Court has rejected appeals from oil and gas companies against lawsuits filed by state and local governments seeking to hold the energy businesses accountable for climate change.

The high court on Monday denied appeals in five cases regarding claims from California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland and Rhode Island.

Attorney Phil Goldberg, who works for the National Association of Manufacturers' legal arm, said: "The challenge of our time is developing technologies and public policies so that the world can produce and use energy in ways that are affordable for people and sustainable for the planet. It should not be figuring out how to creatively plead lawsuits that seek to monetize climate change and provide no solution."

Appeals courts have so far decided in favor of the state and local governments in these cases.

"Big Oil companies have been desperate to avoid trials in state courts, where they will be forced to defend their climate lies in front of juries, and today the Supreme Court declined to bail them out," said Center for Climate Integrity President Richard Wiles, according to NBC News.

Justices may recuse themselves from a case if they or their spouses own stock in one of the involved parties.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh voted to take up one of the five cases, while Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in discussions involving the case against Shell Oil or the one against Suncor Energy.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.