Climate

Axios - The Justice Department, in a highly unusual move, is seeking district court injunctions to block Michigan and Hawaii from filing lawsuits that demand damages from fossil fuel producers.

• Hawaii nonetheless filed suit against oil majors yesterday, though DOJ has made clear it will fight the effort.
• Separately, DOJ filed cases against "climate superfund" laws recently enacted in Vermont and New York that also seek billions of dollars from the industry.
• The moves follow President Trump's exec order last month pushing the Justice Department to challenge state policies and lawsuits that it alleges would burden energy production.

Meanwhile, House Republicans, joined by 35 Democrats, passed a measure yesterday that would thwart California rules that effectively ban the sale of new gas cars by 2035....

Red states and industry groups are already battling the NY and Vermont state climate superfund laws in court...

The DOJ, in the complaints, says it's ensuring states don't interfere with the Clean Air Act or the federal government's "exclusive authority over interstate and foreign commerce, greenhouse gas regulation, and national energy policy."

• It alleges state restrictions and "burdens" on energy producers are raising consumer costs and making the U.S. "less able to defend itself from hostile foreign actors."