Montgomery, Ala. – WDNews: Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is leading a 25-state coalition urging the Supreme Court of Maryland to dismiss climate change lawsuits that target major energy companies.
The lawsuits—brought by three local governments in Maryland—seek to hold energy producers liable for global climate impacts linked to the production and use of oil and gas. Marshall argues that such actions go too far, infringing on other states’ rights and economic interests.
“Maryland law cannot control energy production and environmental policies in Alabama,” Marshall said. “Baltimore’s concerns about emissions cross state lines, creating a federal issue that must be resolved federally, not by cities and counties seeking to line their pockets.”
Filed jointly with attorneys general from across the country, the brief claims these lawsuits would undermine national energy policy and violate constitutional principles. The filing states that “Maryland law cannot resolve an interstate dispute without breaking fundamental principles of federalism as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Marshall added that one state or locality cannot “impose its environmental agenda on any other State as a matter of constitutional law.”
The brief is backed by attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
