The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that greenhouse gases are air pollutants. According to experts quoted in an article in Business Insurance, the decision could trigger a legal and regulatory assault on U.S. industrial companies, which will take the fight to their insurance companies for coverage of legal defence costs.
Experts warn the ruling will spur plaintiffs to sue smokestack industries for allegedly contributing to climate change, which in turn could be cited as the source of various torts, from Hurricane Katrina, to wildfires in drought-ravaged areas, to crop damage, and so on and so on.
Experts add that it is unlikely the plaintiffs will ultimately prevail, but that does not eliminate lengthy and costly litigation by defendants to avoid liability. And it does nothing to exonerate companies whose reputation has been damaged by such allegations in the court of public opinion.
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