On April 24, The Washington Post published an op-ed that sought to blame an unusual source for the high energy and gas prices Americans are now facing: justice. Specifically, it claims that these price increases are the result of state and local governments trying to hold Big Oil accountable for the climate-related harms their constituents are continuing to suffer.
I submitted a letter to the editor debunking the op-ed’s argument, noting that the real cause of higher gas prices is the illegal war in Iran. It also explained that the oil and gas industry has been raking in massive profits in recent years and could easily absorb the costs of liability, if any, that arise from this litigation. Since the Post chose not to run that letter, I’m sharing it with readers here.
A well-functioning market requires that businesses be held accountable for the harms their irresponsible actions cause to others. But, as a recent Post op-ed (‘High energy bills? Blame the trial lawyers.‘) makes clear, the oil and gas industry has never wanted to play by the same rules the rest of us have to play by.
Lost in the op-ed’s argument is this inconvenient truth: Even if Big Oil were insulated against all liability related to its contributions to climate change, as the author calls for, it would not do anything to reduce energy prices for working families and small businesses. That is because the Iran War is driving the recent massive increase in fossil fuel costs.
The op-ed also ignores that industry has been raking in record profits in recent years — the five oil majors pulled in $102 billion in 2024 alone — and can thus easily absorb the relatively small costs of accountability sought in these suits.
Under the circumstances, though, one can certainly understand why an industry lobbyist with deep ties to the Republican Party is so desperate to deflect blame anywhere he can, including even state courts, which have been a bedrock of U.S. democracy since the founding.
This is not to say that insulating the oil and gas industry against liability will have no effect, however. It will force innocent victims of climate change to bear the costs of adapting to a hotter world with more extreme storms, infrastructure-busting sea level rise, and spread of tropical diseases.
State and local governments will have to pay one way or the other. If they don’t obtain the money for doing so from the wrongdoer, they will have to raise taxes on their constituents — who didn’t cause these harms but are suffering from them. Such a result would be a grave miscarriage of justice.
