While other states continue to grapple with climate change costs, Hawaii has launched a groundbreaking initiative that could reshape the relationship between insurers and the fossil fuel industry. The state legislature passed a resolution urging insurance companies to sue oil and gas corporations for climate damages—the first such measure in the United States. Pretty gutsy move.
The resolution isn’t just talk. It’s a calculated strategy to shift climate adaptation costs from regular folks to the companies that profited from fossil fuels. Hawaii wants insurance companies to seek claims against polluters who allegedly misled the public about climate change. Makes sense, right? Why should taxpayers foot the bill when corporations knew what they were doing?
Hawaii isn’t stopping there. The state has already filed a lawsuit against seven major fossil fuel groups and the American Petroleum Institute, claiming violations ranging from deceptive practices to negligence. Attorney General Anne Lopez filed this lawsuit in the First Circuit Court in Honolulu as part of a growing trend of states holding fossil fuel companies accountable. They’re basically saying these companies valued profits over public welfare and lied about it. Similar to claims in other lawsuits, Hawaii’s case cites internal company documents that allegedly show fossil fuel companies knew about climate risks decades ago while funding misinformation campaigns.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. Hawaii faces mounting expenses from severe storms, rising seas, and devastating wildfires like the 2023 Maui disaster. Rising insurance rates have become a significant burden for Hawaiian families as climate-fueled disasters increase in frequency and severity. Someone’s gotta pay for all this, and Hawaii thinks it shouldn’t be their residents.
Hawaii joins nine other states suing oil companies for climate deception. Both Honolulu and Maui counties filed their own lawsuits back in 2020. And they’re making progress—earlier this year, the Supreme Court allowed Honolulu’s case to proceed, despite the industry’s appeals.
Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies are reportedly lobbying Congress for immunity from these lawsuits. Desperate much?
State Senator Chris Lee, who sponsored the insurer resolution, sees it as a blueprint for other states. The message is clear: those who caused the problem should pay for it.
Hawaii’s bold approach might just force a reckoning that other states have been too timid to pursue.
References
- https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/2025-59-hawaiʻi-condemns-administrations-illegal-attempt-to-interfere-with-state-lawsuit-against-big-oil-sues-fossil-fuel-interests-for-climate-deception/
- https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02052025/hawaii-sues-big-oil-for-alleged-climate-deception-after-trump-administration-tried-to-block-the-litigation/
- https://www.eenews.net/articles/hawaii-urges-insurers-to-sue-oil-industry-for-climate-damages/
- https://climateintegrity.org/news/view/hawaii-sues-big-oil-for-climate-deception
- https://www.insuranceinsiderus.com/article/2epwe67qtr2ha8wpfc0e8/all-topics/regulation/hawaii-legislature-encourages-insurers-to-sue-big-oil-over-climate-change
