The federal district court for the District of Hawaii entered judgment on its ruling that an insurer had a duty under two insurance policies to defend its insured (a subsidiary of Sunoco, LP) in underlying climate lawsuits brought by the City and County of Honolulu and Honolulu Board of Water Supply and the County of Maui. The insurer sought entry of judgment so that it could appeal the ruling on the duty to defend. The court previously denied a motion for entry of judgment because the parties’ disputes over the nature and scope of the insurer’s duty to defend made entry of judgment “inappropriate and inefficient.” After the parties resolved those disputes, the court found that the duty to defend claims had been fully resolved and that there was no just reason for delay. The court noted that a Ninth Circuit reversal of its duty to defend ruling would “effectively resolve” the remaining claims regarding the narrower duty to indemnify and found that the insured would not be prejudiced by an immediate appeal since the insurer was currently covering its defense costs.

Fossil fuel company's lawsuit against insurer for breaching its obligations to defend and indemnify the company in underlying climate change cases brought by Honolulu and Maui.

Aloha Petroleum Ltd. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh

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Hawaii Federal Court Entered Judgment on Insurer’s Duty to Defend Oil Company in Municipalities’ Climate Cases

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.