Climate deadlines collide with politics as Dem-led states chase Big Oil in court but spare local refiners

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Several Democrat-led states are facing conflicting forces in their efforts to transition to 100% green power, as leaders try to shore up the power grid while other officials sue fossil fuel companies in the same light activists did to tobacco firms in the 1990s.

In that decade, dozens of states sued tobacco giants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, alleging they knowingly endangered public health and misled consumers about nicotine’s addictiveness. The cases culminated in a $200 billion "master settlement" in 1998 that banned billboard advertising and reshaped corporate liability in the industry.

Today, several jurisdictions in Colorado are suing ExxonMobil and Suncor in a similar fashion, accusing them of knowing their product harms the environment and public health.

Boulder, Colorado, along with Boulder County and San Miguel County received the blessing of the Colorado Supreme Court in May to move forward with their suit, and officials claimed the energy companies "greatly contributed to an altered climate."

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A Valero refinery operates in Benicia, Calif. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

"This case seeks to hold these companies responsible for knowingly contributing to climate change while concealing the dangers of their products," Boulder city officials said in a statement.

According to a release from Boulder City, Coloradans could face hundreds of millions of dollars in added costs needed to "adapt" to a climate changed by continued reliance on such companies.

ExxonMobil countered that federal law preempts Colorado’s authority to apply state law to the alleged injuries.

"We’ve maintained from the beginning this case is meritless and has no place before a state court," the company said in an emailed statement to Climate in the Courts.

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Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis set a 2040 goal for moving the Centennial State away from fossil fuels, but was questioned by critics for trying to maintain fossil fuel infrastructure at the same time.

Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., previously asked the Trump administration to force Colorado to keep the Comanche power plant online to avoid an "energy emergency," according to Colorado Public Radio (CPR).

Last week, the Polis administration joined with Xcel Energy to petition state regulators to keep Comanche Unit 2 online for at least another year. The coal plant was supposed to close December 31.

Reached for comment, Polis spokesperson Eric Maruyama told Fox News Digital that a separate Comanche coal-fired unit is broken and that the state will benefit from keeping Unit 2 operational.

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"Colorado is well on its way to achieving 100% clean energy and reducing emissions while saving people money and ensuring energy reliability," Maruyama said.

"Renewable energy remains the least expensive form of energy, and thanks to Governor Polis’ leadership, in 2024, 43% of Colorado’s total electricity was produced by wind, solar or other renewable sources while maintaining among the lowest energy costs in the country."

Reports show Coloradans have the third-lowest electricity costs in the nation relative to income.

Hawaii also sued oil firms in 2024, alleging they violated the state constitution's "public trust doctrine," claiming companies deceived the public regarding fossil fuels' alleged harm done to the state's resources.

Back on the mainland, California is dealing with its own complex energy production situation, according to critics, who point to Democratic governors over the past decade-plus who have worked to set strict deadlines for moving the Golden State away from oil and gas.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov. Gavin Newsom set a 2045 deadline for achieving carbon-free energy under SB-100. In July, the California Energy Commission under the Newsom administration held talks with "market players" to discuss the planned closure of two major oil companies’ refineries by 2026, according to Politico.

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Phillips 66 and Valero both are considering or have started the process of shutting down their operations, and a source familiar with the situation said that oil companies must regularly analyze whether costly maintenance cycles that occur on average every five years are worth funding.

Chevron already moved out, shifting its headquarters from Contra Costa County to Houston, Texas -- but it continues to support some California operations.

With the state positioned against fossil fuels for the long term, these companies have to think seriously about investing in such maintenance cycles to keep their operations running smoothly, the source said.

Valero told California officials earlier this year it plans to seriously consider idling or ending production by April, according to Politico.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the state energy commission told the outlet it has been "actively supporting conversations with a variety of market players to discuss pathways to address the impacts of the closure intent announcements of the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington and Valero refinery in Benicia."

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CA State Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego (Reuters)

The outlet described the dynamic as an "about-face after the past two years" of "Newsom focused on preventing gasoline price spikes by increasing regulations on refiners." Over the summer, his administration proposed loosening permitting requirements for new oil wells in the Bakersfield area.

California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, criticized Newsom’s approach.

"Social engineering and market manipulation on the part of government never end well," he said.

"We’re seeing that now in California and everyday citizens are the ones paying the price for Gavin Newsom’s political experiments: Gasoline prices are through the roof and rising, and the average family can’t afford to survive, much less thrive, here in the Golden State."

Jones said the affordability crisis in his state is "real" and is only exacerbated by recent and looming refinery closures.

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"We need a major course correction that puts working families over ideology. Absent that, I’m not sure this ends well."

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment for purposes of this story. 

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].