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The State of Rhode Island sued 21 fossil fuel companies arguing that they should be held liable for climate change impacts the state has experienced and will experience. Rhode Island asserted the defendants were responsible for 15% of emissions from 1965 and 2015 and had produced, promoted, and marketed fossil fuels while concealing hazards and championing anti-science campaigns.
The case is one of the many U.S. local and state government cases seeking damages from the fossil fuel industry. It is awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Baltimore v. BP.
Background[edit]
This case has followed a similar trajectory as County of San Mateo v. Chevron Corp., City of Oakland v. BP p.l.c., and other cases brought by local governments seeking damages from fossil fuel companies.
The case was originally brought in state court but removed to federal court by the fossil fuel companies. Both the U.S. District and First Circuit Courts have remanded the case back to state court. The fossil fuel companies filed a petition for writ of certiorari in December 2020. The case raises many of the same jurisdictional issues as Baltimore v. BP.
Relevant Law and Principles[edit]
- State Environmental Rights Act (Rhode Island)
Status[edit]
The case is currently awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Baltimore v. BP. The fossil fuel companies have filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their appeal seeking to block remand to Rhode Island state court.