Issue - April 21, 2026

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 21, and this week’s ESG Litigation Weekly covers the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision sending a Louisiana coastal damage suit against Chevron to federal court, Hawaiʻi’s win in dismissing a U.S. lawsuit that sought to block its climate-deception case against fossil fuel companies, a Kenyan High Court ruling allowing a toxic waste class action against BP to proceed, and more.

Supreme Court Sends Louisiana Coastal Damage Suit Against Chevron to Federal Court
The U.S. Supreme Court held that Chevron could remove Plaquemines Parish’s Louisiana coastal damage suit to federal court under the federal officer removal statute. The case is one of 42 Louisiana suits alleging oil and gas companies violated the state’s coastal law through unpermitted or improperly permitted activities. The Court held the suit “relates to” Chevron’s federal wartime duties because the challenged crude-oil production was closely connected to its World War II refining of aviation gasoline for the U.S. military. The decision concerns the forum, not the merits of the coastal damage claims.
🔗 Read more → Supreme Court (Court Opinion, Case Docket)

Hawaiʻi Wins Dismissal of U.S. Suit Seeking to Block State Climate-Deception Case
A federal judge in Hawaiʻi dismissed with prejudice the U.S. government’s suit seeking to stop the state from pursuing its separate case against major fossil fuel companies. The United States sued Hawaiʻi on April 30, 2025, one day before Hawaiʻi filed the state-court lawsuit alleging fossil fuel companies engaged in deceptive marketing and failed to warn consumers about the climate dangers of their products. Judge Helen Gillmor held that the United States lacked Article III standing because its alleged harms were too speculative, rested on a chain of future events, and were not redressable in federal court. The order also said Hawaiʻi’s state case asserts state-law tort and deceptive-marketing claims, not regulation of interstate emissions. Hawaiʻi’s suit against fossil fuel companies can now proceed in state court.
🔗 Read more → Hawaiʻi Governor's Office (Press Release, Court Order)

Kenya High Court Allows BP Toxic Waste Class Action to Proceed
Kenya’s High Court allowed a class action to proceed against BP over alleged contamination from oil exploration activities carried out in northern Kenya in the 1980s by Amoco Corporation, which BP acquired in 1998. The case, filed by 299 petitioners, alleges that toxic waste containing radioactive and other hazardous materials contaminated groundwater near Kargi and Kalacha, causing illnesses and deaths among residents and livestock. The suit also names several Kenyan ministries and agencies for allegedly failing to act. The case is scheduled to resume in May.
🔗 Read more → The Associated Press

EU Court Says Hungary’s CO₂ Allowance Tax Appears Incompatible With EU ETS Rules
The Court of Justice of the EU held that the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) directive precludes Hungary’s 2023 tax on free CO₂ emission allowances as it neutralizes the compensatory effect of free allocations and undermines the goals of preserving competitiveness and preventing carbon leakage, which the Hungarian court must verify. The case arose from a challenge by fertilizer producer Nitrogénművek. The court said a tax on free allowances can strip them of much of their economic value and remove incentives to cut emissions.
🔗 Read more → EU InfoCuria (Press Release, Court Judgment)

NAACP Sues xAI Over Alleged Unpermitted Turbines at Southaven Data Center Site
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP sued xAI and MZX Tech in federal court in Mississippi, alleging they built and operated 27 methane gas turbines without required Clean Air Act permits to power the Colossus 2 data center in Southaven. The complaint alleges the turbines are stationary sources that have the potential to emit significant quantities of NOx, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde, and that the site should have undergone permitting and best available control technology review before construction and operation. The suit seeks injunctive relief, pollution controls, and civil penalties.
🔗 Read more → NAACP (Press Release, Court Filing)

Maine Enacts Climate Damages Assessment Bill
Maine has enacted Legislative Document 1870 (LD 1870) after the legislature amended the original climate superfund bill into a resolve titled “Resolve, to Assess the Total Cost to the State of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” The measure directs a state assessment of climate-related costs from 1995 to 2024, with a report due by January 1, 2028. The assessment result could inform future related legislative action. The bill was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor on April 16.
🔗 Read more → State of Maine Legislature (Summary of LD 1870, Chaptered Law 168)

House Bill Would Bar Climate Liability Suits and Void State “Energy Penalty” Laws
Representative Harriet Hageman introduced the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026, a federal bill aimed at blocking climate liability lawsuits and state climate superfund-style laws targeting energy producers. According to Hageman’s office, the bill would prohibit retroactive climate liability proceedings, dismiss pending lawsuits and related enforcement actions upon enactment, void state “energy penalty” laws, and affirm exclusive federal authority over greenhouse gas regulation and interstate environmental standards.
🔗 Read more → Rep. Harriet Hageman’s Press Release

UK Confirms Carbon Price Support Will End in April 2028
The UK government confirmed that Carbon Price Support (CPS), the tax on fossil fuels used in electricity generation, will be removed from April 2028. In a written statement to Parliament, the Treasury wrote that the measure introduced in 2013 had achieved its purpose by strengthening the carbon price for power generation, but is no longer needed because coal has left the grid and the UK Emissions Trading System (ETS) has matured. The government said removing CPS will simplify carbon pricing and help offset electricity bill costs linked to its British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.
🔗 Read more → UK Parliament: Statement UIN HCWS1519

ISO Publishes ISO 14001:2026 Update to Environmental Management Standard
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published ISO 14001:2026, the updated edition of its environmental management systems standard. ISO said the new version is intended to be easier to use and better aligned with current environmental priorities, including climate change, biodiversity, resource efficiency, leadership, governance, and value-chain impacts. The organization described the update as a refinement of the existing framework rather than a full redesign, aimed at helping companies demonstrate more measurable environmental performance.
🔗 Read more → ISO (News Release, ISO 14001:2026)

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German Court Prohibits Pearl From Marketing Online Store as “Sustainable”
Following a lawsuit by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), and after Pearl recognized DUH’s cease-and-desist claim, DUH said the Freiburg Regional Court decided that Pearl may no longer market its online store as “sustainable.” DUH argued that neither the shop itself nor all products sold through it could be described that way. The case concerned broad environmental messaging tied to a product range that included electronics, technology, and household goods. Pearl is a major European mail-order retailer in those categories.
🔗 Read more → DUH’s Press Release

IMD Commentary Argues Sustainability Is Becoming More Financially Disciplined, Not Disappearing
A new Institute for Management Development (IMD) commentary argues that political backlash against ESG in the U.S. and softer EU reporting rules have not ended sustainability’s relevance to business. Instead, it suggests companies are moving away from broad sustainability branding toward financially material issues such as emissions, water stress, resource constraints, talent, and supply-chain integrity. The author also notes that investors continue to assess these factors through a risk-return lens, with artificial intelligence improving their ability to quantify and price sustainability-related risks.
🔗 Read more → IMD “Follow the money: Why sustainability is not dead, just smarter”

Catch up on previous editions → ESGLitigation.com

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