Year in Review: Climate Litigation Campaign Closes Out Not With Not a Bang, But a Whimper

2024 was a tumultuous year for climate lawsuits, to say the least. Throughout the year, radical campaigns opposed to American energy continued to fall flat, highlighting their lack of alignment with the priorities of the American people.

Highlights – or lowlights, rather – include the failure of state campaigns to result in lawsuits and voters’ overwhelming rejection of the forced green agenda, instead affirming their preference for common-sense policies that favor affordable energy.

In the States: A Failing Regime and Increasing Backlash

Cases throughout the United States saw major setbacks and opposition in 2024.

Courts in Maryland and Delaware, seeing through the plaintiffs’ claims, dramatically limited and outright dismissed lawsuits brought by Baltimore and the state of Delaware – underscoring the fundamental legal flaws in these politically driven campaigns. Judges pointed to plaintiffs’ inability to hold companies responsible for a global phenomenon such as climate change and the legal barriers to litigating claims that occurred outside the state.

The sweeping ambitions of climate plaintiffs are, in part, are why nineteen state attorneys general asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block climate lawsuits brought by California and four other states, arguing that the cases raise “grave constitutional problems” as they would “affect energy and fuel consumption and production across the country.” It’s also why South Carolina’s attorney general came out in opposition of Charleston’s case, arguing it should be dismissed as it “disrupt[s) ‘basic interests of federalism’ and impair[s] state sovereignty.”

At the same time, Pennsylvania’s Bucks County found itself isolated after filing a climate lawsuit early in the year that resulted in severe backlash across the state: the sole Republican commissioner withdrew support, no other municipalities have joined the cause despite aggressive efforts by plaintiff recruiters, and the Democratic attorney general candidate denounced climate litigation just days before the election.

In Michigan, after AG Dana Nessel announced plans to file suit, state business and labor groups came out strongly in opposition. And while activist groups have expended immense effort to push Wisconsin to join the litigation campaign, they have been unable to gain traction in the state.

And in Maine, the only state where an attorney general filed a climate suit in 2024, state media quickly called out AG Frey’s lawsuit as simply a way for the longtime attorney general to distract from his history of scandals.

Washington Weighs in (Sort-of) on Climate Cases

In his last year of the presidency, and amid Vice President Kamala Harris’ flip-flopping campaign rhetoric touting domestic energy production, Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to “strategically support” climate litigation continued to fall short of activist expectations.

Earlier this month, the solicitor general unsurprisingly backed the lawsuits via two briefs filed with the Supreme Court, although the SG admitted that large constitutional gaps in the legal theory may pose problems down the road. As noted by legal expert Ed Whelen in the National Review, the brief is “much more a political than a legal exercise”:

“It would be politically unpalatable for the Biden administration to agree with the oil companies’ constitutional arguments, but it would be directly contrary to the interests of the United States to disagree with them (as that would enable the fifty states to impose their own contradictory and varying laws on the same emissions emanating from sources around the nation and the world). All of which might suggest that the SG’s brief is much more a political than a legal exercise.”

As the nation prepares for the change of guard next month, President-elect Trump has made it clear that eradicating climate lawsuits will be a priority. His commitment to protecting the energy industry from politically motivated litigation marks a significant shift in the current federal approach.

In 2025, Congress is expected to maintain its focus on third-party litigation funding reform and increase oversight on the influence of outside organizations in driving these cases. Active investigations into plaintiffs firm Sher Edling – which revealed a dark money scheme behind the litigation – and inquiries regarding a behind-the-scenes campaign to sway the perspectives of judges who may one day preside over these lawsuits are likely to continue.

These actions signal a broader effort to advance accountability and transparency in climate litigation, ensuring that the legal system is not exploited to benefit personal agendas that seek to eliminate American energy competitiveness.

Vendettas Against Industry Exposed

EID Climate has long highlighted the Rockefeller’s multi-pronged campaign against American energy – but their overarching goal of eradicating domestic energy production came into focus this year when they gleefully went to the Wall Street Journal to take credit for orchestrating the LNG pause despite its widespread economic and energy security implications.

Bombshell reporting from Fox News added to the public scripting of the Rockefellers’ agenda, exposing their behind-the-scenes strategy that bore New York’s first failed climate suit. Their ‘sign, seal, and deliver’ manipulation of every aspect of that case illustrates the calculated nature of these lawsuits, designed to push political agendas under the guise of legal action.

While the same playbook continues to be used nationwide, 2024’s mounting legal setbacks have forced anti-energy campaigns to shift their focus. Facing diminishing returns in their traditional lawsuits, they have expanded strategies and targets, suing utilities and the recycling industry, continuing to push superfund bills at the state and national level, and pushing fringe theories like “climate homicide.”

Looking Ahead

2025 marks the ten year anniversary of #ExxonKnew, yet there is little to show for it. Eyes remain on the Supreme Court as it decides whether to intervene in the interstate dispute over climate lawsuits as well as the companies’ petition challenging the merits of Honolulu’s lawsuit. Another important ruling is imminent in Colorado, where the state supreme court is reviewing a trial court’s ruling denying motions to dismiss litigation brought by Boulder and other municipalities.

With a new administration committed to ending the litigation campaign and a Congress focused on reform and oversight, the coming year presents a critical opportunity to ensure energy policies align with the nation’s priorities. Exposing misinformation and ill practices by anti-industry groups will be key to advancing accountability and protecting America’s energy future.

Read the full story at EIDClimate.org.

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