Hawaii lawmakers are encouraging insurance companies to sue the oil and gas industry for climate damages, even as the Trump administration seeks to block states from enacting climate policy.
The first-of-its-kind state resolution — which supporters hope can be replicated elsewhere — calls on insurers to pursue claims against polluters who “knowingly engaged in misleading and deceptive practices” regarding the connection between their products and climate change.
Hawaii state Sen. Chris Lee (D), who sponsored the resolution, said he hopes it will help transfer some climate costs from ratepayers to companies that profited as they contributed to global warming.
“We’re trying to get climate effects addressed by those folks who are knowingly contributing to the problem, rather than the average family who is paying quite significantly,” he said.
