Blindly protecting investments in coal and oil without taking account of the changing world is a formula for impoverishment — environmentally, socially, and especially financially.The Independent Petroleum Assn. of America breathlessly promoted a “bombshell” reported by Fox News that Leonardo DiCaprio’s nonprofit foundation had provided funding for some of the litigation.
Global warming litigation is still in its infancy, and plainly the judicial system doesn’t quite know what to make of it. The result has been some decisions in which judges agree that the plaintiffs have a point, but aren’t sure how to handle their claims. Which legal strategy would have the best chance of prevailing is still unclear. The California lawsuit lists as causes of action state laws concerning public nuisances, pollution, untrue or misleading advertising or marketing, fraudulent business practices, product liability and negligence, in the hope that at least one of them will bear fruit.