Coverage for Climate Change: Footing the Bill for Carbon Footprints

摘要

Lawsuits against automakers, oil refineries, and power companies to recover damages allegedly attributable to greenhouse gas emissions are being filed across the country, and can present a real and expensive problem to businesses within these industries. This July, Steadfast Insurance Company sued its policyholder, AES, seeking a declaration that there was no coverage under its commercial general liability policy for a global warming lawsuit in which AES was a named defendant. Using the Steadfast litigation as a rubric, this article reviews the current state of climate change litigation, and evaluates some of the issues that may arise when seeking coverage for this litigation.