The City of Honolulu has moved forward in its lawsuit against major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Phillips 66, accusing them of knowingly contributing to climate change and deceiving the public for decades. Filed in 2020, the lawsuit claims these companies were aware for nearly 50 years that burning fossil fuels causes greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet. Honolulu argues the consequences of these actions are visible around Oahu’s coastline through rising sea levels, stronger hurricanes, increased heatwaves, and declining coral reefs. The oil companies sought to dismiss the lawsuit, citing Hawaii’s two-year statute of limitations, but Judge Lisa Cataldo has not yet ruled on the motion. Shell responded that “the suggestion that the plaintiffs were somehow unaware of climate change is simply not credible.”
Honolulu’s case is further along than over 30 similar lawsuits filed by other U.S. states and local governments. It survived challenges in both the Hawaii Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Legal experts believe the outcome could set a significant precedent. Michael Gerrard, of the Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, said, “The first trial in any of these cases will be very significant. It will get a large amount of nationwide or even global attention.”
