Supreme Court Declines Republican States' Bid to Halt Climate Lawsuits Against Oil Companies

The decision allows Democratic-led states to proceed with lawsuits accusing energy firms of misleading the public about fossil fuel impacts on climate change.

The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit from 19 Republican-led states seeking to block climate litigation by five Democratic-led states against oil and gas companies.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, arguing the court should have considered the case under its original jurisdiction over state disputes.
The lawsuits, filed in state courts by California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, allege that energy companies knowingly misled the public about the environmental risks of fossil fuels.
Republican states argued that the lawsuits could disrupt federal energy policy and impose significant costs on the national energy system.
The court's decision follows earlier refusals to intervene in related cases, allowing state-level litigation to move forward against major energy firms like ExxonMobil and Shell.