Message From the Editor

A range of industries, from finance to insurance, are under increasing scrutiny for their efforts in support of the fossil fuel industry. The latest targets are the law firms defending and lobbying on behalf of oil, gas, and coal industry clients as the world burns. The pressure to stop enabling climate breakdown is coming from the next generation of lawyers. Read more about this new campaign.

Speaking of the world burning, DeSmog’s Dana Drugmand spoke with author and journalist Lee van der Voo about her new book, AS THE WORLD BURNS, which chronicles a historic climate accountability lawsuit and the young people fighting for a livable climate. Read the Q&A.

While the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce made headlines last year for finally calling for climate action, a new report reveals a lot more climate talk but fossil fuel action from the organization, reports Sharon Kelly.
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Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

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Top Law Firms Called Out for Serving Fossil Fuel Industry Clients in New Climate 'Scorecard'

— By Dana Drugmand (4 min. read) —

With lawsuits against major fossil fuel producers over climate damages on the rise, a new report and initiative examines how prestigious law firms are enabling climate breakdown. The student-led initiative, Law Students for Climate Accountability, calls for holding the legal industry accountable for profiting from work defending and lobbying for fossil fuel clients as the world faces what scientists say is a climate emergency. This campaign is emerging as industries ranging from finance to insurance are facing greater scrutiny in a rapidly warming world.

“Law firms write the contracts for fossil fuel projects, lobby to weaken environmental regulations, and help fossil fuel companies evade accountability in court. Our research is the first to expose the broad extent of firms’ role in driving the climate crisis,” Alisa White, a student at Yale Law School and a lead author on the report, said in a press release.

'As the World Burns': Q&A With Author Lee van der Voo on Her New Book About a Landmark Youth Climate Lawsuit

— By Dana Drugmand (13 min. read) —

Earlier this year a pair of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided to dismiss the groundbreaking American youth climate change lawsuit Juliana v. United States. But the case is not yet over — while the 21 young people who sued the U.S. government await a decision on whether the full appeals court will review the ruling to toss the lawsuit, a brand-new book by award-winning environmental journalist Lee van der Voo takes a behind-the-scenes look at this landmark legal case and the youth plaintiffs known collectively as the Juliana 21.

The book, AS THE WORLD BURNS: The New Generation of Activists and the Legal Fight Against Climate Change, tells the stories of these young people who are part of a generation of youth fighting for their lives and their rights amidst the unfolding climate crisis. “AS THE WORLD BURNS is climate breakdown like you’ve never seen it — through the eyes of the young,” the book’s description notes.

After Calling for Climate Action, US Chamber of Commerce Pushes Pro-Fossil Fuel Agenda

— By Sharon Kelly (5 min. read) —

A new campaign targeting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its lobbying on climate change issues published a report today criticizing the pro-business lobbying and advocacy group for continuing to push for pro-fossil fuel policies despite recognizing that climate change is real.

For years, the Chamber opposed action to slow climate change, prompting activists to dub the organization the “Chamber of Carbon.”

Retirement Fund for Many California Firefighters Battling Wildfires Puts Money in Coal

— By Sharon Kelly (12 min. read) —

This week, the Creek Fire in California officially became the largest single wildfire in the state’s history — and the blaze remained just 32 percent contained. Already this year, more than 3.6 million acres have burned in nearly 8,000 separate fires.

Five of the six largest fires to strike California since reliable record-keeping began are currently burning according to Cal Fire. Smoke from the fires has already reached the Atlantic coast and turned skies along the West coast eerie shades of orange and red. The fires have killed at least 26 people — and the smoke may have already caused the deaths of an additional 1,200 people, researchers from Stanford University estimated earlier this month.

How Congress Can Support Lawsuits Demanding Climate Accountability

— By Dana Drugmand (7 min. read) —

On Wednesday, September 23, several members of Congress introduced a resolution in both houses that supports the principles and demands of the 21 youth suing the U.S. government in the landmark constitutional climate case Juliana v. United States. Titled the “Children’s Fundamental Rights and Climate Recovery Resolution,” this Congressional resolution, though nonbinding, demonstrates one way that Congress can play a key role in supporting the growing calls to hold the federal government and fossil fuel companies accountable for the devastating damages of the climate crisis.

In January, a divided federal appeals court dismissed the Juliana youth lawsuit, but the youths have asked the full court to review that dismissal and a decision is still pending.

Why a Tidal Wave of Climate Lawsuits Looms Over the Fossil Fuel Industry

— By Karen Savage, The Climate Docket (9 min. read) —

Amid a summer rife with climate-related disasters, the liability lawsuits came like an advancing flood, first Minnesota and Washington D.C. within days of each other in June, followed by Hoboken, Charleston, Delaware and Connecticut in rapid succession in September. Their suits have turned a summer of unrest into a quest to make fossil fuel companies pay for the damages caused by the burning of their products, joining a trend that began three years ago but evolving to match the circumstances of today.

This summer, extreme heat blanketed much of the Northeast, with seven states recording the hottest July on record. Wildfires have swept through the west, destroying homes, uprooting lives and searing the lungs of millions with unrelenting smoke. Residents in Louisiana and Alabama have faced a continuing barrage of hurricanes and storms, dumping unimaginable amounts of rain and misery.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: David Legates

David Legates is a Joint Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Delaware. In 2005, he was designated as Delaware's State Climatologist, but in 2007 then-governor Ruth Ann Minner asked Legates to stop using his formal title in public statements on climate change policy, and he formally was asked to step down from the position in 2011. Legates was recently hired as deputy assistant secretary of commerce for observation and prediction at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 1998, Legates signed the “Oregon Petition,” which states that “There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate.”

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database or our new Koch Network Database.