Supreme Court declines to hear Alaska climate change case

Source: Reuters

Supreme Court declines to hear Alaska climate change case

By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON | Mon May 20, 2013 10:11am EDT

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an Alaskan village's claim that it should be able to sue oil companies and utilities for damages attributed to climate change.

Lawyers for the village of Kivalina wanted various named defendants responsible for greenhouse emissions, including Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and Duke Energy Corp, to pay damages for greater flooding and erosion that they say have caused by a reduction in sea ice.

The court's refusal to take the case means an appeals court ruling in favor of the defendants remains intact.

The appeals court said that Kivalina could not pursue its lawsuit under federal common law because the Clean Air Act and Obama administration regulations aimed at cutting emissions displaced such claims.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/us-usa-court-climate-idUSBRE94J0FQ20130520