Exxon, BP Take More Climate Liability Cases to Supreme Court

Oil and gas companies filed two new climate-related petitions at the U.S. Supreme Court last week, expanding the burgeoning climate docket just weeks before the justices hear arguments in a related case against the industry.

Lawyers for Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Plc, Chevron Corp., and others on Dec. 30 urged the high court to take up a pair of appellate decisions that allowed state and local governments to pursue litigation against the companies in state court.

The justices should keep the petitions on hold for now and resolve them based on the outcome of BP Plc v. Baltimore, a ...