Aloha Petroleum may not have its legal fees covered by insurance in two major climate cases.
Aloha Petroleum is a named defendant in cases brought by the City and County of Honolulu and the County of Maui that allege several major players in the oil industry promoted disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change.
The oil company's insurance providers had claimed they did not have to pay the legal fees in these cases for two reasons.
The first was that the oil company intentionally took action that it knew would cause harm when it promoted fossil fuel products that contribute to climate change.
The second was that greenhouse gasses should be considered a pollutant, which are not covered under the insurance companies’ policies.
Aloha Petroleum sued its providers for breach of contract. The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court was asked to weigh in on the case.
The justices decided that Aloha Petroleum's actions did not qualify as intentional, though they could be seen as reckless.
However, the justices also concurred that greenhouse gasses are a pollutant.
"This court respects climate science. We have held that the Hawaiʻi Constitution's right to a clean and healthful environment includes the right to a stable climate system," wrote Justice Todd Eddins in the court's opinion.
"This court understands that GHGs cause environmental damage because of their presence in the atmosphere."
That determination means Aloha Petroleum's legal fees are unlikely to be covered, though it will ultimately be up to a federal judge to decide.
