Written by: Wendy Salazar Galvan
2023 is officially the warmest year in global temperature, and data records go back to 1850. [1] According to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitor, the average temperatures were 2.66 Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels.[2] Evidence suggests that Earth hasn’t been this warm in at least 100,000 years.[3]
2023 also had some progress in climate-related lawsuits.
First, a Montana Judge ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs and held that the “state’s failure to consider climate change when approving fossil fuel projects was unconstitutional.”[4] The 16 young plaintiffs asserted that by supporting a fossil fuel-driven energy system through a provision of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), the state is violating their constitutional rights to a clean and healthful environment under the Montana Constitution.[5] A provision named the “MEPA Limitation” prohibited state agencies from considering the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions or corresponding climate change impacts in environmental reviews.[6] The court found that the “unrefuted testimony at trial established that climate change is a critical threat to public health” and that the plaintiffs “have been and will continue to be harmed by the State’s disregard of [greenhouse gas] pollution and climate change pursuant to the MEPA Limitation.”[7]
Second, California launched one of the most prominent climate lawsuits in the nation. California alleges that big oil companies misled the public by downplaying the risks that global warming poses to the public.[8] The state claims that beginning in the 1950s, the five named companies, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP, and ConocoPhillips, had knowledge that their products were likely to lead to significant global warming and intentionally downplayed the risks posed by fossil fuels to the public.[9] Further, the state claims that the five plaintiffs continue to mislead the public via greenwashing, an act making a product appear to be more environmentally friendly than it actually is.[10] Some of these companies boast about their commitment to reducing emissions while at the same time reporting record profits from the production of planet-warming fossil fuels.[11] The state seeks the creation of an abetment fund to pay for recovery and to pay for the future damages caused by climate-related disasters in California.[12]
In 2024, one should expect not only extreme weather but more climate-related lawsuits as well.
[1] Copernicus: 2023 is the hottest year on record, with global temperatures close to the 1.5°C limit, Copernicus (Dec. 9, 2024), https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2023-hottest-year-record.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] David Gelles and Mike Baker, Judge Rules in Favor of Montana Youths in a Landmark Climate Case, NYT (Updated Aug. 16, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/us/montana-youth-climate-ruling.html.
[5] HISTORIC TRIAL CONCLUDED JUNE 20, 2023 – THE YOUTH WON!, Our Children’s Trust,
https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/montana.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] David Gelles, California Sues Giant Oil Companies, Citing Decades of Deception, NYT (Sept. 15, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/business/california-oil-lawsuit-newsom.html.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.