Press Releases
May 4, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Less than three weeks after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Minnesota’s climate deception lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute could advance toward trial, the U.S. Department of Justice today sued Minnesota in an attempt to prevent the state’s case from going forward.
President Trump last year ordered the Justice Department to take “all appropriate action to stop” the growing number of climate lawsuits facing fossil fuel companies, many of which are advancing toward trial. Under former Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Justice Department sued Michigan and Hawaiʻi to prevent both states from suing Big Oil companies. Both states have since filed their lawsuits and federal courts have dismissed the Trump administration’s complaints.
Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, said:
“This is a desperate effort to shield the architects of Big Oil’s decades-long climate deception from facing accountability. Big Oil and the Trump administration are clearly terrified that Minnesota’s lawsuit will reveal exactly how these defendants defrauded the public about the dangers of fossil fuels. Federal courts dismissed the Trump administration’s last two attempts to stop states from taking Big Oil companies to court. This naked political intimidation tactic should meet the same fate.”
Background on Minnesota’s lawsuit against Exxon, Koch, and API:
Minnesota is suing three major architects of climate denial — ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute — to hold them accountable for a “campaign of deception” to mislead consumers about the science of climate change and failing to disclose their knowledge that fossil fuel products caused global warming.
The complaint charges the companies with violating Minnesota state laws against consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and false statements in advertising. It seeks an end to those illegal practices, financial restitution for the harms Minnesotans have suffered, and asks the state court to require the companies to fund a corrective public education campaign on the issue of climate change.
Background on U.S. Climate Accountability Lawsuits Against Big Oil:
Eleven U.S. states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont — and the District of Columbia, along with dozens of city, county, and tribal governments in California, Colorado, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Puerto Rico, have active lawsuits to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change. These cases collectively represent more than 1 in 4 people living in the United States.
Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a case from Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is one of a growing number of communities across the U.S. — including Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, the District of Columbia, and the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, Minnesota and Connecticut — whose climate deception lawsuits against Big Oil companies are advancing toward discovery and trial after courts denied the companies’ motions to dismiss.
Background on Big Oil’s Lobbying Campaign to Secure Immunity Through Congress:
After months of fossil fuel industry lobbying, Republican lawmakers have introduced federal legislation that would give oil and gas companies immunity from any laws or lawsuits that aim to hold them accountable for their role in the climate crisis.
The oil and gas industry and its allies have been lobbying Congress and the Trump administration for more than a year to escape accountability. Last year, 16 Republican attorneys general proposed creating a “liability shield” for fossil fuel companies modeled on a 2005 law protecting gun manufacturers from lawsuits. In January, the American Petroleum Institute announced that killing state climate lawsuits is a top 2026 priority for the oil lobby. And a growing number of states have passed state-level laws that aim to shield fossil fuel companies from legal accountability. Recent reporting from ProPublica found those bills are "part of a coordinated effort by groups linked to right-wing activist Leonard Leo."