HI SCR154

Attorney General is requested to file a lawsuit against major oil corporations (BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total Energies) for climate damages to Hawaii.

These six companies jointly account for nearly 23 percent of the cumulative global carbon footprint in the oil refining sector according to the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.

Attorney General is requested to engage a third-party law firm with expertise in climate damages litigation to support the lawsuit.

Hawaii Supreme Court rejected defendants' claims in October 2023 that oil companies lack state court jurisdiction and that public nuisance claims for climate damages are invalid under Hawaii law.

Nine other state attorneys general have already filed similar lawsuits against big oil companies; Hawaii's suit would address state-level climate costs beyond current City and County of Honolulu and Maui County lawsuits.