By Madison Gesiotto Gilbert
Excerpt:
Once a global leader in energy innovation, California is now becoming a case study in how to sue an industry out of existence.
Gavin Newsom has turned the state into a legal meat grinder for energy producers, dragging them into court and demanding billions in damages for “more than 50 years of deception, cover-up, and damage” over climate change — driving investment out of the state in the process.
Yet, as Politico reported on Aug. 4 4, Newsom is now pleading with the very companies he’s suing not to leave, as his green energy plans have led to soaring prices and refinery closures.
To make matters worse, Newsom’s blueprint is going national. Climate litigation is spreading across blue states, where courts are being weaponized in what amounts to a proxy war on domestic energy.
Cities and states are filing lawsuits blaming oil companies for wildfires, hurricanes, heatwaves, and other weather events — often under the unsubstantiated theory that the industry knew about climate risks and misled the public. The cast of plaintiffs may vary, but the victims of this lawfare remain the same: the American people, along with our economic and national security.
From Hawaii to Illinois to New York, Democratic officials are partnering with activist lawyers to extract billions in settlements and funnel the cash into politically favored energy alternatives the market won’t adopt on its own. Meanwhile, Americans are paying the price — literally.
In California — the epicenter of this war on energy — refinery closures could push the cost of regular gasoline up by as much as 75 percent by 2026. Illinoisans and New Yorkers are facing double-digit utility rate hikes to fund green mandates and gas-to-electric conversions. On the reliability front, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation warns that large swaths of the country now face an elevated blackout risk as demand grows and coal plants retire before firm replacements come online. Nationwide, coal plant and mine closures have already cut the coal workforce nearly in half — from over 80,000 miners in 2010 to about 41,000 today — gutting rural tax revenue and wiping out nearly four additional local jobs for every miner lost.
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We need to stop pretending climate lawfare is a noble crusade. It is a legal and economic bludgeon, wielded by activists and politicians who have weaponized litigation for political and financial gain. If left unchecked, it will leave America weaker, poorer, and more reliant on its adversaries just to keep the lights on.
