Supreme Climate Change Battle

Setting the stage for what promises to be a blockbuster environmental case, the U.S. Supreme Court on December 6 agreed to hear a challenge to a Second Circuit decision allowing plaintiffs to maintain a public nuisance lawsuit against energy companies who operate fossil-fuel-fired electric generating plants, based on the companies' alleged emissions of greenhouse gases that are claimed to contribute to climate change. The Supreme Court's decision in this closely watched case could have a dramatic impact on the energy industry and ripple through other major industries as well.

The defendants in the American Electric Power v. Connecticut are major energy companies that provide electricity to millions of individuals and enterprises in 20 states. The plaintiffs include eight states, three nonprofit land trusts, and a municipality. The district court initially dismissed their suit, noting that even under the plaintiffs' own theory, climate change is a global phenomenon