Oil is winning everywhere — except in court

Presented by Equinor: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Mar 24, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by Equinor Air pollution is seen in Oberhausen, Germany. The world's top climate scientists have warned new fossil fuel infrastructure is incompatible with a livable planet. | Lukas Schulze/Getty Images Oil companies suffered a setback in federal court this week as they seek the upper hand in a series of cases looking to hold them liable for climate damages. Local governments from Hoboken to Honolulu have launched nearly two dozen climate liability lawsuits against major oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron. The governments argue that oil companies should be financially responsible for the consequences of a warming planet, including flood and wildfire damage, extreme heat, and sea-level rise. The suits would collect hundreds of billions of dollars if successful. The oil companies want these climate liability cases to be heard in federal courts, where they believe they have an advantage. Local governments say the cases belong in state courts, where there are much stronger consumer protection laws. On Thursday, the three Trump-appointed judges on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a case from Minnesota belongs in state court. That’s the sixth such ruling from courts across the country, writes POLITICO’s E&E News reporter Lesley Clark. The decision could also make it harder to get the case in front of the Supreme Court — a move oil companies desperately want to take. If there had been a major disagreement between judges about where these cases belong — state or federal courts — the conservative-learning Supreme Court might be persuaded to intervene and make a final decision. But the agreement among courts across the country has raised the bar. “Now oil companies have to hope that the high court takes up one of their petitions to hear the dispute and that they can convince it that every lower court was wrong,” Lesley told Power Switch. The decision comes at a time when industry is thriving. Oil and gas companies reaped record profits last year, and production is only expected to grow. The Biden administration recently approved an $8 billion oil project in Alaska, despite dire warnings from the world’s top scientists that burning more fossil fuels is incompatible with a livable planet.   Thank goodness it's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.   A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining opportunity of our time. We all have a role to play. At Equinor, we’re doing our part by growing our renewable energy portfolio and lowering emissions from production. By the time the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050, our goal is to have net-zero emissions. Discover more about Equinor at www.equinor.com/USA.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Joseph Gedeon breaks down Canada’s plan for a permanent nuclear waste storage facility and why it's drawing protests from some U.S. lawmakers. Compromise? Tesla cars recharge at a Tesla charger station on Feb. 15, 2023, in Corte Madera, Calif. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The Biden administration may allow European companies to share in billions of dollars in U.S. tax incentives for electric vehicles if the two sides can reach a trade deal in the next few weeks, a senior administration official said Friday — a move that could help ease a major source of trans-Atlantic friction, writes Zack Colman. No such concessions for Europe will be included in a long-awaited proposed guidance that the Treasury Department will release for the incentives next week, the official told POLITICO after being granted anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations. But ongoing talks between the U.S. and E.U. could produce an agreement allowing vehicles that include European minerals to qualify for the full extent of the tax breaks, the person said. Those vehicles would still have to be made in North America.   A message from Equinor:   Power Centers An electric vehicle charges at a mall parking lot. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Electric future The guidance the Treasury Department plans to issue next week could also have lasting implications for U.S.-China collaborations on electric vehicles — as well as the Biden administration’s goals on climate and human rights, writes David Iaconangelo. At issue is a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that allows buyers of new EVs to claim up to $7,500 in tax credits. In future years, those incentives will be unavailable to cars with battery parts supplied by a “foreign entity of concern” — a term the statute does not define. Deep-sea mining A spat this week among members of an international agency responsible for regulating mining of the ocean floors shows just how politically explosive the endeavor could be — even as mining proposals inch closer to reality, writes Hannah Northey. The fight highlights the growing tension around mining some of the planet’s most mysterious, remote and untouched places. Despite concerns, proponents argue the practice could help the world avoid the worst effects of climate change by securing minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries and low-carbon energy technology. Car cliffhanger European Union leaders wrapped up a summit today without a deal on phasing out combustion engine vehicles by 2035, a major sticking point between Berlin and Brussels, writes a team of POLITICO reporters. Berlin, along with several allies, has held the previously agreed-upon legislation hostage, demanding that the E.U. carve out a loophole to allow sales of some traditional combustion engine vehicles after 2035 as long as they run on synthetic fuels. In Other News Maryland utilities: A first-in-the-nation bill is seeking to shed light on utility deliberations and a "shadow government." Let it gooo: Warm winter weather is threatening a beloved Canadian tradition — the hair-freezing contest.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Flames close in on cars along a country road at the Blue Cut Fire near Wrightwood, Calif. | David McNew/Getty Images When global leaders meet later this year to negotiate climate action, the urgency to cut planet-warming emissions will be starker than ever before. The European Union wants to force its own producers and those abroad to reduce their carbon emissions. Now international resistance against that move is growing. A large gas leak at an Arctic drilling site last year went undiscovered for days because employees failed to investigate warning signs, ConocoPhillips officials told Alaska regulators. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!   A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining opportunity of our time. Our world needs energy to keep moving forward — but it must be affordable, reliable, and accessible. We all have a role to play. At Equinor, we’re doing our part by helping accelerate the energy transition. We’re growing our renewable energy portfolio and lowering emissions from production. We’re already on the way to powering 2,000,000 New York homes with energy from the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind projects. We’re creating jobs, building tomorrow’s infrastructure, and sparking new economic activity. But for us, that’s only the beginning. By the time the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050, our goal is to have net-zero emissions. Discover more about Equinor at www.equinor.com/USA.     LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.       Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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