LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Michigan’s plan to sue fossil fuel companies over climate change is already in court—just not the way Attorney General Dana Nessel intended.
U.S. Department of Justice gets involved.
Before Nessel could file her long-anticipated lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice filed one of its own, asking a federal court to block her from taking action.
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The lawsuit, filed on April 30th, argues that Nessel’s anticipated claims would illegally interfere with federal authority under the Clean Air Act, which gives the Environmental Protection Agency sole discretion over greenhouse gas regulations.
“These burdensome and ideologically motivated lawsuits threaten American energy independence and our country’s economic and national security,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.
Nessel has not yet filed a lawsuit but has contracted outside law firms to prepare it, according to Bridge Michigan.
“This lawsuit is at best frivolous and arguably sanctionable,” Nessel said in a statement. “They will not succeed in any attempt to preemptively bar our access to make our claims in the courts. I remain undeterred in my intention to file this lawsuit the President and his Big Oil donors so fear.”
DOJ looking to “unleash American energy.”
The DOJ argues that any attempt by states to seek compensation for climate damage would amount to regulating emissions “beyond their borders,” which it claims is prohibited under federal law.
“The Department of Justice is working to ‘Unleash American Energy’ by stopping these illegitimate impediments to the production of affordable, reliable energy that Americans deserve,” Bondi said.
The lawsuit against Michigan comes alongside similar federal actions this week targeting Hawaii, New York, and Vermont.
New York’s recently passed “climate superfund” law seeks $75 billion in damages from energy companies. Vermont’s version, also passed last year, has not yet named a figure. Hawaii, meanwhile, has signaled plans to sue over climate-related damage, including the 2023 Lahaina wildfire.