Michael Toth, research director at the Civitas Institute, has emphasized the importance of state attorneys general clarifying their positions on climate litigation. He argues that reliance on municipalities and private firms is insufficient. This statement was made in a research article published by the Civitas Institute.
“Preemption cases are nothing new, yet there’s something novel about how the familiar tug-of-war between federal and state law has played out in the realm of climate litigation,” said Toth, Director of Research. “Getting the state’s views in climate cases would promote accountability currently missing in municipal cases. State attorneys general (AGs) should also intervene in cases where local governments get over their jurisdictional skis. But it would be helpful, for transparency’s sake, if the state leaders responsible for setting the regulatory agenda within their jurisdictions went public with their views and stopped outsourcing them to NGOs and private plaintiffs’ firms.”
According to Toth, more than 200,000 residents of Colorado are employed in jobs connected to the state’s oil and gas industry. He contends that these workers are directly impacted by legal efforts aimed at regulating carbon emissions through state tort law. The article suggests that these individuals deserve transparency regarding where their state leaders stand on climate-related legal actions.
The article also mentions Sher Edling, a private law firm actively engaged in climate litigation, which has received $11 million from the New Venture Fund (NVF) since 2021. NVF is managed by Arabella Advisors and is described as one of several “dark money” funds channeling substantial financial resources into progressive causes, as reported by the New York Times. Toth points out that this national funding network supports numerous local and state climate cases.
Toth serves as Director of Research at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, where he examines legal and policy issues related to federalism, state authority, and regulatory power. His research article delves into how state attorneys general and other leaders manage cases with potential implications for energy policy.