A Maryland Circuit Court granted fossil fuel companies’ motion to dismiss the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore’s claims seeking to hold the companies liable for climate change-related injuries resulting from the companies’ alleged “sophisticated campaign of deception to misrepresent and conceal their products’ risks.” Aligning itself with the reasoning of decisions that held that New York City’s and Delaware’s claims against fossil fuel companies were preempted or largely preempted, the Maryland court rejected Baltimore’s contention that its lawsuit did not seek to regulate or impose liability for greenhouse gas emissions. The court found “that Baltimore’s complaint is entirely about addressing the injuries of global climate change and seeking damages for such alleged injuries” and that Baltimore’s explanation “that it only seeks to address and hold Defendants accountable for a deceptive misinformation campaign is simply a way to get in the back door what they cannot get in the front door.” The Maryland court concluded that federal common law applied because the case involved global emissions, that the Clean Air Act displaced federal common law related to domestic emissions, and that the Clean Air Act preempted Baltimore’s state law claims based on domestic emissions. The Maryland court further concluded that state law could not provide a remedy for claims arising from foreign emissions. The court distinguished the Fourth Circuit’s decision that the companies’ preemption defense did not create federal jurisdiction over Baltimore’s claims, citing “the heightened standard unique to the removability inquiry.” Although the Maryland court dismissed Baltimore’s claims on preemption grounds, the court also concluded—“to make the record complete”—that Baltimore failed to state claims of public and private nuisance, failure to warn, design defect, and trespass. The court also ruled that Baltimore’s Maryland Consumer Protection Act claim was time-barred.

City of Baltimore lawsuit seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for climate change impacts.

Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. BP p.l.c.

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Maryland Trial Court Said Federal Law Preempted Baltimore’s Climate Claims Against Fossil Fuel Companies

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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.

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Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

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Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

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Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

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Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Maryland Trial Court Said Federal Law Preempted Baltimore’s Climate Claims Against Fossil Fuel Companies

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance