Litigation to Confront the Climate Crisis

How long have fossil fuel companies known that their products are killing us and our planet while sowing doubt and denial about these facts? What are the options for litigation to hold the companies accountable for their deception? How can the communities hardest-hit by the climate crisis get justice? In “Litigation and Advocacy to Confront and Survive the Climate Crisis,” our panelists expose the history of the climate crisis and corporate disinformation. They highlight the inspiring cases of harmed communities fighting for justice in communities throughout the United States. They illuminate the importance of state courts as a venue to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for their deception and harm. And they examine the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to weaken the rights of those seeking to use the civil justice system to challenge corporate abuses. Panelists: Alyssa Johl currently serves as Legal Director with the Center for Climate Integrity, where she is supporting efforts to hold fossil fuel companies and other climate polluters accountable for the damages they have caused. Vic Sher is a founding partner in Sher Edling LLP. Vic is the lead outside lawyer for sixteen public agencies (three states, the District of Columbia, and twelve cities and counties) in climate change damages cases against the fossil fuel industry. Karen Sokol is a professor of law at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Her current scholarship focuses on climate litigation, fossil fuel industry disinformation, and on the need to center the Global South in international climate policy. Pamela Gilbert is a partner in Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP. She is one of the leading advocates in Washington, DC working to protect consumers, preserve access to the civil justice system for both individuals and businesses, and ensure that Congress does not provide immunity to the fossil fuel industry for its deception campaign about the climate crisis.