Alabama Attorney General Opposes Lawsuits Impacting Energy Production

Alabama’s Attorney General, Steve Marshall, is joining forces with other states to challenge lawsuits that he argues could negatively affect U.S. energy production. He recently announced the filing of multi-stage briefs aiming to counter a lawsuit that imposes significant liability on energy companies due to climate change allegations. This legal action is being pursued by three local governments in Maryland, seeking to control oil and gas production, sales, and usage on a global scale.

Marshall expressed his stance in a statement, saying, “Maryland laws do not control Alabama’s energy production and environmental policy. Baltimore’s concerns about emissions create federal issues that must be resolved by the federal government, not by localities attempting to infringe upon state boundaries.” His comments highlight the fundamental disagreement between state and local governance concerning energy regulation.

Furthermore, the Alabama-led brief submitted to the Maryland Supreme Court seeks to dismiss three cases that Marshall believes threaten Alabama’s autonomy and economic well-being. He argues that Maryland law cannot settle interstate disputes without violating key principles of federalism as established by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Marshall asserts that attempting to regulate the global atmosphere overreaches the powers of any one state, thereby impacting the health and welfare of citizens in other regions. “One state or local government cannot impose an environmental agenda on another state as a constitutional matter,” he emphasized. “These cases need to be rejected.”

Several other states are backing this brief, including Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee.