Puerto Rico withdrew its $1 billion climate lawsuit against the oil and gas industry on Friday following the Trump administration’s move to block two states from seeking legal damages for similar alleged environmental damages.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the territory’s government said in the notice that it “voluntarily dismisses this entire case,” with no further elaboration as to why. President Donald Trump has repeatedly condemned state-level climate policies that impact domestic energy production, and on April 30, his Department of Justice (DOJ) filed two separate lawsuits against Hawaii and Michigan after both states considered filing similar complaints against the oil and gas industry.
“This dismissal adds to the growing momentum among federal and state courts holding that states and municipalities cannot use state laws to sue over climate change,” Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr. of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP, counsel for Chevron Corporation wrote in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “These claims are precluded and preempted by federal law and must be dismissed under clear U.S. Supreme Court precedent.”
The notice to dismiss the suit was filed “without prejudice.”
The lawsuit, originally filed in July 2024 by Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Justice Domingo Emanuelli Hernández, alleged BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and a number of other energy companies engaged in using unfair and dishonest trade practices by allegedly failing to provide warnings about the environmental risks of fossil fuel use, according to an E&E News translation.
Puerto Rico’s move to drop the case comes just days after the Trump administration took action against both Michigan and Hawaii, which had previously announced that they intended to sue the fossil fuel industry. The Trump administration claimed that the states were engaging in “extraordinary extraterritorial reach.”
Trump, taking a firm stance against state-led climate initiatives that may inhibit domestic energy production, signed an executive order on April 8 directing the attorney general to “identify all State and local laws, regulations, causes of action, policies, and practices” that might be “unconstitutional” or “burdening” energy production.
“An affordable and reliable domestic energy supply is essential to the national and economic security of the United States, as well as our foreign policy,” the order reads. “Simply put, Americans are better off when the United States is energy dominant.”
Hawaii filed its legal complaint against several large oil companies just hours after the DOJ filed its suit against the state. Hawaiian officials condemned the the DOJ’s lawsuit in a press release shared May 1.
“We have an obligation to the people of Hawaii, to do everything in our power to fight deceptive practices from these fossil fuel companies that erode Hawaii’s public health, natural resources and economy,” Hawaii Attorney General Lopez said in the release. “The federal lawsuit filed by the Justice Department attempts to block Hawaii from holding the fossil fuel industry responsible for deceptive conduct that caused climate change damage to Hawaii.”
“Energy independence is not just a strategic goal, it’s a necessity for Puerto Rico’s economic growth,” Republican Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “That’s why I’ve worked closely with the U.S. Secretary of Energy and other federal partners, to help us accelerate the Island’s energy reconstruction efforts.”
“I remain committed to achieving a balanced, pro-growth energy agenda, one that recognizes the urgent need for grid resiliency, energy affordability, and economic development,” González-Colón continued.
The American Energy Institute (AEI) sent a letter asking González-Colón to drop the lawsuit, which she inherited upon entering office, on April 25, writing that “climate lawfare threatens to derail your administration’s common-sense approach. The climate plaintiffs are advancing a fundamentally neocolonial agenda. They are steering Puerto Rico toward a ‘green’ energy future it did not choose — one that ignores the basic needs of its people, who simply require cheap and reliable electricity.”
“The American Energy Institute applauds the withdrawal of Puerto Rico’s climate lawsuit,” founder and CEO of AEI Jason Isaac wrote in a statement to the DCNF. “This decisive step — taken shortly after our correspondence with Governor González-Colón — shows she’s putting Puerto Rico’s energy needs ahead of fringe climate ideology. By rejecting the alarmist lawfare agenda, the Governor is backing President Trump’s energy dominance strategy and standing up for affordable, reliable power for her constituents. It’s a big win for energy sanity and the people of Puerto Rico.”
“Puerto Rico must be a full partner in America’s energy future, and under my leadership, we will continue building a system that attracts investment, and strengthens our energy security,” González-Colón said in her statement. “Puerto Rico deserves an energy future that is both sustainable and secure, and that is exactly what we are working to achieve.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from González-Colón’s office.
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