Two former chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff filed an amicus brief to the Hawaii Supreme Court last week with a warning that oil and gas products are "critical to national security, economic stability, and military preparedness" after the court last year allowed a lawsuit between the city of Honolulu and several U.S. energy firms to proceed to trial.
Retired Gen. Richard B. Myers and Adm. Michael G. Mullen said in their brief that the court "did not address at all the foreign policy concerns" that such a judgment would have on multiple facets of society, in particular the defense of the United States.
The lawsuit alleged that energy giants, including Sunoco, Exxon, Chevron, and others, embarked on a "sophisticated disinformation campaigns to cast doubt on the science, causes, and effects of global warming."
Retired Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Michael Wilson praised the unanimous ruling at the time saying, "This is now the most important climate case in the United States. ... Now the Hawaii Supreme Court has allowed a jury of 12 Hawaii citizens to decide whether lies by the oil companies created large-scale billion-dollar damage to our county and city of Honolulu."
Myers and Mullen argued in their brief that a ruling against the defendants would put the U.S. at a disadvantage against adversaries, saying that oil and gas remain "crucial to the success of our armed forces."
While noting in the brief's introduction they take no position on climate change policy, they emphasized that such "international policy issues should be addressed to Congress and the Executive Branch, not adjudicated piecemeal across the country in a multitude of state courts."
Myers and Mullen wrote in the brief: "State tort damages and abatement cases unduly risk constricting the availability of oil and gas to the detriment of national security interests, at a critical juncture in our Nation's history, when geopolitical forces and energy security are especially vulnerable to belligerent nations,"
The Honolulu lawsuit is just one of many climate driven legal challenges filed by state and local governments across the U.S. the last several years. The lawsuits are seeking billions from energy producers to help municipalities adapt to rising sea levels, floods, and other weather-related damages critics claim are a result of man-made carbon dioxide emissions.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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