DOJ Sues Minnesota to Block Climate Lawsuit Targeting Energy Companies

Federal lawyers said Minnesota is using consumer-protection laws to regulate greenhouse gas emissions beyond its borders.

Pumpjacks operate near the site of a new oil and gas well being drilled in Midland, Texas, on April 8, 2022. Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Minnesota over the state’s own climate lawsuit against major energy companies.

The complaint, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, accuses state officials of trying to impose their own climate policies on domestic energy producers in a way the DOJ says burdens national energy development and intrudes on federal authority.