Utility industry urges court to bar climate change liability suit
From
> the December 14, 2009 issue of Public Power Weekly
>
> APPA, the Edison Electric Institute and National Rural Electric
> Cooperative Association have urged a federal appeals court to reverse
> a ruling allowing a liability suit seeking damages from more than 30
> companies for allegedly contributing to climate change. In a Dec. 4
> joint brief, the associations asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
> Fifth Circuit to dismiss the suit by a group of Louisianans, who
> allege that the increase in greenhouse gases contributed to an
> increase in the strength of Hurricane Katrina, which in turn caused
> them harm.
>
> Under the ruling in Comer, et al. v. Murphy Oil, et al., any
> plaintiffs alleging injury by climatic phenomena "would have standing
> to assert a damages claim against virtually every entity and
> individual on the planet, since each 'contributes' to global
> concentrations" of greenhouse gases, APPA and the others said. The
> constitutional power to balance the economic, environmental and
> international interests surrounding climate change "is vested in the
> political branches," they said. - ROBERT VARELA
>
>
> the December 14, 2009 issue of Public Power Weekly
>
> APPA, the Edison Electric Institute and National Rural Electric
> Cooperative Association have urged a federal appeals court to reverse
> a ruling allowing a liability suit seeking damages from more than 30
> companies for allegedly contributing to climate change. In a Dec. 4
> joint brief, the associations asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
> Fifth Circuit to dismiss the suit by a group of Louisianans, who
> allege that the increase in greenhouse gases contributed to an
> increase in the strength of Hurricane Katrina, which in turn caused
> them harm.
>
> Under the ruling in Comer, et al. v. Murphy Oil, et al., any
> plaintiffs alleging injury by climatic phenomena "would have standing
> to assert a damages claim against virtually every entity and
> individual on the planet, since each 'contributes' to global
> concentrations" of greenhouse gases, APPA and the others said. The
> constitutional power to balance the economic, environmental and
> international interests surrounding climate change "is vested in the
> political branches," they said. - ROBERT VARELA
>
>