On April 30, 2025, the Trump administration filed suit against the state of Hawai’i following the state’s announcement that it would sue fossil fuel companies for alleged climate change harms. The state’s lawsuit had not yet been filed, but the Trump administration, under President Trump’s January 20, 2025, “Energy Emergency” declaration, argued that the lawsuit would hamper and harm American energy production and so must be stopped. The administration’s lawsuit argues that all environmental regulations are preempted to the federal government by the Clean Air Act and “foreign policy concerns” because “greenhouse gases present a uniquely international problem of national concern.” The administration alleges that Hawai’i is encroaching on federal authority to regulate out-of-state emissions and thus is violating the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The administration also alleges that Hawai’i’s climate lawsuit would negatively impact the energy market, restrict energy production, and harm “economic prosperity,” though they cite no evidence for these claims.

We have an obligation to the people of Hawaiʻi, to do everything in our power to fight deceptive practices from these fossil fuel companies that erode Hawaiʻi’s public health, natural resources and economy. The federal lawsuit filed by the Justice Department attempts to block Hawaiʻi from holding the fossil fuel industry responsible for deceptive conduct that caused climate change damage to Hawaiʻi. Attorney General Anne Lopez