GHG TORT RULING BOLSTERS LEVERAGE FOR FEDERAL CLIMATE RULES

摘要

The long-awaited appellate ruling holding that courts can decide tort claims against emitters to address the public nuisance of global warming has expanded plaintiffs' ability to pursue such suits, legal scholars say, creating new leverage for supporters of strict climate change rules to win agreement from industry on federal greenhouse gas (GHG) rules as a way to preempt similar rulings in the future. Among other things, the ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Connecticut, et al. v. American Electric Power [AEP], et al. has expanded the universe of plaintiffs eligible to sue over climate change issues, opened the door to courts imposing injunctive relief such as setting emissions standards, and ruled for the first time that courts can address climate change despite the contentious political debate on the issue.