Judge Throws out New York City's Climate Change Lawsuit against 5 Major Oil Companies

by Tom DiChristopher (CNBC) A federal judge dismissed New York's lawsuit against five big oil and gas companies for their role in climate change. New York argued the companies should compensate the city for the cost of mitigating the effects of global warming. U.S. District Court Judge John F. Keenan ruled that problems associated with climate change should be tackled by Congress and the executive branch.

A federal judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit brought by New York City against five major oil companies for their role in contributing to climate change.

New York is one of several cities that have filed suit against big oil companies, which the municipalities blame for adverse impacts related to global warming. Echoing the ruling to dismiss two California cases last month, the judge based his ruling in part on the view that problems associated with climate change should be tackled by Congress and the executive branch.

New York said five of the biggest oil companies — BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell — should compensate the city for the cost of mitigating the effects of global warming.

Attorneys for New York also alleged the companies downplayed the risks of burning fossil fuels while privately acknowledging the threat of global warming for decades.

But on Thursday, John F. Keenan, U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of New York, granted the defendants' request to dismiss the complaint.

The judge also ruled that the Clean Air Act displaced the city's claims. He said courts have previously determined that interstate emissions from burning fossil fuels is a "federal concern" that has been "delegated to the Executive Branch as they require a uniform, national solution."