Public Nuisance Wire Interviewed Me on the Impact of the Fifth Circuit's Global Warming Decision, Comer v. Murphy Oil

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Russell Jackson

Recently I spoke with Keith Loira at Public Nuisance Wire about the Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Comer v. Murphy Oil, which I previously posted about here. 

You can read Keith's interview of me here.

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Comments (1) Read through and enter the discussion with the form at the end
Dr. Wil Burns - December 10, 2009 4:25 PM

Your observation that successful litigation in this context won't do anything to address climate change is flat out wrong. Many major emitters, especially utilities, have become far more amenable to national climate change legislation as a consequence of the specter of a flurry of additional nuisance actions. Additionally, if these cases are successful, and damages are assessed, it will help us capture many of the externalities associated with GHG emissions, sending powerful market signals to both consumers and major emitters, spurring energy shifting and innovation.

And I am tired of this old saw about not letting those faceless men and women in black robes decide this issue. You can indulge the fiction that the democratic process works well in this context, but it simply has not. Despite very large majorities (two thirds in the latest Pew survey) indicating the U.S. should act to address climate change, the Kerry-Boxer bill will likely die because of a filibuster in the Senate. There are times when only the judiciary, relatively shielded from malignant politics of this nature, can help to kick the can down the road.

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