The ‘climate lawfare’ Pandora’s box is about to blow up your energy bills

Despite billions of taxpayer dollars directed toward forcing a transition to intermittent renewables, wind and solar have not replaced reliable thermal energy. Instead, they have only added to an increasingly energy-hungry economy that still depends on oil, natural gas, and coal to keep America moving. Whether they realize it or not, every American still relies on fossil fuels and the companies that produce, transport, and deliver them.Simply put, fossil fuels and the companies that produce them remain integral to the energy industry that powers American life. That’s why an upcoming Supreme Court ruling deserves close attention.On Oct. 5, the Supreme Court will hear Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, a case that will determine whether state and local governments can sue energy companies to recover costs they attribute to the broader effects of fossil fuel production and carbon dioxide emissions on their communities. Boulder County and the City of Boulder, Colorado, are seeking damages and other relief in state court from Exxon Mobil Corporation and Suncor entities for alleged climate-related harms they attribute to the companies’ production, promotion, refining, marketing, and sale of fossil fuels. Let’s get one thing straight. Energy companies simply exist to provide the energy that Americans and people around the globe continue to consume. So, a fundamental difference exists between liability for wrongful conduct and liability for providing a lawful product that benefits all of humanity. A ruling for Boulder would not only be inappropriate, but it also would represent a remarkable expansion of local legal authority.Fossil fuel production often crosses state and international borders. Crude oil and natural gas are transported by tankers, trucks, and pipelines across several jurisdictions to power homes, businesses, and industries hundreds of miles from their point of origin. That interstate and international impact is critical to the case before the Supreme Court.Holding energy companies that lawfully produce energy financially accountable for the broader global impacts associated with fossil fuel use would fundamentally alter the legal landscape of an industry critical to our economy and national security. This decision would harm more than the major players mentioned in this case. If Boulder wins, you can comfortably bet that every left-leaning court in the nation will seek similar reparations for perceived impacts all at once.Contrary to popular perception, most fossil fuel producers are small businesses that lack the financial resources to withstand millions of dollars in litigation costs or damages. The financial burden of these lawsuits could force producers out of business, threaten domestic energy production, eliminate thousands of American jobs, drive up energy costs, and inflict lasting economic damage.With Americans already seeing price shocks at the pump, the last thing our nation and the world needs is domestic fossil fuel production funneled into a death spiral in the name of climate catastrophism.That is what this case boils down to. It is an attempt to use the courts to impose broadly calculated costs and consequences on an industry that remains essential to modern life and the global economy.OPINION: BIDEN PAUSED OIL, TRUMP STALLED WIND. OUR CRISIS HAS NO PARTYThe Supreme Court must reject this blatant effort to use courts to accelerate an energy transition that has proven far more difficult and costly than its advocates anticipated. Energy companies simply cannot be held financially accountable for broad, flimsy assessments of local climate damage attributed to carbon emissions tied to a product the world still demands and relies on. With global conflicts already pressuring energy affordability, the answer must be increased energy production and security, not less.The Supreme Court must rule to protect America’s energy security and affordability and keep Pandora’s box closed.Wayne Christian is a statewide-elected Texas Railroad Commissioner serving his second six-year term. He was first elected to the commission in 2016 after serving seven terms in the Texas House of Representatives. Before entering public service, he worked in banking, real estate, and financial services. As a railroad commissioner, he oversees regulation of Texas’s oil and gas industry and advocates nationally for reliable American energy production, energy security, and affordability.