PLEA Network

8 March 2018, Bloomberg, Why Environmentalists Want to Tell It to the Judge. Efforts to fight climate change are going nowhere in the U.S. Congress, and President Donald Trump has vowed to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. So environmentalists are turning to the courts. A March 7 ruling that allowed one case to proceed — a charge that the federal government helped enable climate change — has buoyed environmentalists. But they’ll still have to overcome a host of legal obstacles and lawyers for oil and gas companies before the question of who’s responsible for global warming can be weighed in court. 1. What are environmental activists doing? Some are suing on behalf of local governments, claiming that energy companies denied scientists’ findings on climate change despite knowing the “grave risk” posed by the use of fossil fuels. New York City has filed suit against six oil and gas producers claiming they’re the world’s largest contributors to climate change. Attorneys general in Massachusetts and New York are investigating Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest U.S. oil company, for defrauding shareholders and consumers by covering up information on climate change. Others blame the government for failing to act against global warming. The case that moved forward on March 7 is a 2015 suit by a group of 21 Oregon children and teens that claimed the federal government has failed to take actions necessary to limit greenhouse gases, violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty and property. Read More here