Climate Lawyer Says the Quiet Part Out Loud: ‘It’s Really Just a Carbon Tax’

David Bookbinder used to be the lawyer representing Boulder, Colorado, in its climate lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy. He’s no longer actively involved in the case. Which apparently freed him up to say what the lawsuit is actually trying to accomplish.

“Essentially, the tort liability is an indirect carbon tax,” Bookbinder told a Federalist Society forum in October. Not a lawsuit seeking damages for misleading the public. Not an accountability measure for environmental harm. A tax – imposed through courtrooms instead of Congress.

The case is now headed to the Supreme Court, where justices will decide whether to hear it. Republican lawmakers warn it could “bankrupt the American oil industry” and threaten national security. Those warnings just got more credible – because one of the architects admitted the goal isn’t justice, it’s economics.

When activists sue oil companies for climate damages, they’re really trying to make fossil fuels too expensive to use. Bookbinder just said so out loud.