Lawfare! How Courts & State Legislatures Influence Climate Action - CleanTechnica

The article discusses the emerging legal battles between individuals, states, and fossil fuel companies over responsibility for climate change-related damages. A landmark case involves Misti Leon from Washington suing oil companies for the extreme heat that caused her mother’s death during Seattle’s record 108°F heatwave in 2021, which scientists attribute largely to human-caused climate change. Unlike previous lawsuits brought by political entities on behalf of citizens, Leon’s case is unprecedented in the U.S. as it targets harm to a single individual. Similar legal efforts, such as a group of senior women suing at the European Court of Human Rights over disproportionate heat-related deaths, have so far been unsuccessful, largely due to prolonged legal delays and tactics reminiscent of those used by Big Tobacco to stall accountability. The article also highlights how some states, like New York and Vermont, have enacted laws shifting climate adaptation costs from taxpayers to fossil fuel companies through Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Programs. These laws aim to make polluters financially responsible for infrastructure