(Adds Chevron comment)
By Jonathan Stempel and Sebastien Malo
NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on
Thursday rejected New York City's effort to hold five major oil
companies liable to help pay the costs of addressing harm caused
by global warming.
Ruling in favor of BP Plc, Chevron Corp,
ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch
Shell Plc, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Manhattan said the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions should
be addressed under federal law and international treaties.
It rejected the city's efforts to sue under state nuisance
law for damages caused by the companies' "admittedly legal"
production and sale of fossil fuels, and said the city's federal
common law claims were displaced by the federal Clean Air Act.
"Global warming presents a uniquely international problem of
national concern," Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan wrote for a
three-judge panel. "It is therefore not well-suited to the
application of state law."
Sullivan added that while the Clean Air Act did not address
emissions from outside the country, foreign policy concerns and
the risk of courts "stepping on the toes of the political
branches" barred the city's lawsuit.
Nick Paolucci, a spokesman for New York's law department,
said the city was disappointed it could not hold the oil
companies "accountable for the environmental damage they knew
their products would cause."
Thursday's decision "explains in clear detail why the U.S.
climate tort lawsuits are meritless," Chevron General Counsel
Hewitt Pate said. "Working with the new U.S. administration,
other governments, and other honest stakeholders on constructive
global solutions is a better path."
Other defendants did not immediately Respond to requests for
comment.
The decision upheld a July 2018 dismissal by U.S. District
Judge John Keenan in Manhattan.
The city's lawsuit was an early effort among U.S. states and
municipalities to turn to the judiciary invoke state law to
address climate change.
The decision "confirms the wisdom of filing state common law
lawsuits in state courts that are unlikely to be controlled by
federal law," said Robert Percival, a University of Maryland law
professor.
The case is City of New York v Chevron Corp et al, 2nd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 18-2188.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Sebastien Malo in New York;
Additional reporting by Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, David
Gregorio and Jonathan Oatis)