Climate law expert faces political pressure as states target oil firms for climate damages

Rachel Rothschild, a law professor whose legal research helped states design laws to make fossil fuel companies pay for climate-related damage, is now the target of a lawsuit backed by coal industry donors.

Coral Davenport reports for The New York Times.

In short:

• Rothschild's memo helped inspire “climate superfund” laws in New York and Vermont, which aim to hold fossil fuel companies financially liable for climate damage.
• A conservative group tied to the coal industry and Trump allies is suing for access to Rothschild’s emails and pushing for her deposition, raising concerns about academic freedom.
• More than 30 similar climate liability lawsuits are pending nationwide, and several states are weighing bills based on Rothschild’s legal strategy.

Key quote:

“Legal actions and public records requests may be used in a manner that can intimidate or silence scholars, and when that happens, it threatens not only the targeted individuals but also the progress of knowledge and informed debate.”

— Kyle Logue, interim dean of the University of Michigan Law School

Why this matters:

A new front in the climate battle is emerging in state legislatures and courthouses, where lawmakers are deploying legal strategies modeled after those used to hold Big Tobacco and opioid manufacturers accountable. These state-level “polluter pays” laws aim to force fossil fuel companies to shoulder the financial burden of decades of environmental harm — a tab that could stretch into the billions. But the push has drawn aggressive resistance. Oil and gas interests argue that such retroactive costs are unconstitutional, and they’ve begun targeting the academic and legal minds behind these efforts.

Legal scholars like Daniel Rothschild have found themselves under fire through coordinated public records requests, part of a larger strategy to discredit the intellectual foundation of climate accountability. With Congress unlikely to act, the pressure is mounting on states — and the universities and public officials that serve them — to carry the weight of climate accountability, even as they become the targets of increasingly politicized attacks.

Learn more: Fossil fuel companies use lawsuits to stall climate action