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Honolulu accuses oil firms of misleading public

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Honolulu among various U.S. jurisdictions to sue oil firms

By John Kruzel

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court

declined on Monday to hear a bid by Sunoco ( SUN ) and other oil

companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of

misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate

change induced by the burning of fossils fuels.

The justices turned away an appeal by the oil companies of a

decision by Hawaii's top court allowing the suit, which alleged

violations of state law, to proceed. Other defendants in the

lawsuit include Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), BP, Shell,

ConocoPhillips ( COP ), BHP Group ( BHP ), Marathon Petroleum ( MPC )

and Chevron ( CVX ).

The suit was filed in 2020 by the city and county of

Honolulu and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, a

semi-autonomous city agency. The plaintiffs said misleading

statements made by the companies about the impact of their

fossil fuel products paved the way for property and

infrastructure damage caused by human-induced climate change.

The plaintiffs have sought unspecified monetary damages.

Honolulu is located on Hawaii's Oahu island.

The lawsuit said that heat waves linked to climate change

have stressed the city's electrical grid, and that a wastewater

treatment plant would need to be retrofitted against sea level

rise at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, among other

harms.

Honolulu is among various U.S. jurisdictions to have filed suits

seeking monetary damages from companies that extract, produce,

distribute or sell fossil fuels, arguing that their activities

contribute to emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called

greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

"Defendants have known for more than 50 years that

greenhouse gas pollution from their fossil fuel products would

have a significant adverse impact on the Earth's climate and sea

levels," the Honolulu lawsuit stated.

Instead of warning the public about the known consequences

of using their products or working to minimize associated

damage, the companies "concealed the dangers, promoted false and

misleading information, sought to undermine public support for

greenhouse gas regulation, and engaged in massive campaigns to

promote the ever-increasing use of their products at

ever-greater volumes," the lawsuit added.

Among other consequences of this conduct, the lawsuit said,

the average sea level will rise substantially along the Honolulu

Pacific coastline, causing flooding, erosion and beach loss and

extreme weather affecting the region will become more frequent.

The companies urged a trial judge to dismiss the suit,

arguing that the claims made under state law were preempted, or

blocked, by federal law because those Hawaii statutes sought to

regulate interstate emissions or commerce, powers reserved for

the federal government.

Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Crabtree denied that

request. The Hawaii Supreme Court in October 2023 upheld the

judge's ruling, prompting the oil companies to appeal to the

justices.

The defendants had tried to move the case to federal court but

were rebuffed by the U.S. Supreme Court in April 2023.

President Joe Biden's administration in December 2024 urged the

justices to rebuff the oil companies' appeal of the Hawaii

Supreme Court ruling. Biden's administration also urged the

court to turn away a separate bid by 19 Republican-led states to

block five Democratic-led states from pursuing similar lawsuits

accusing the fossil fuel producers of deceiving the public about

climate change.