Michigan Fights To Crush Federal Lawsuit Blocking State Climate Action

Before Michigan even filed a lawsuit against Big Oil, the feds swooped in to stop them. The Department of Justice filed a preemptive strike on April 30, 2025, blocking Michigan’s planned climate litigation against fossil fuel companies. Talk about jumping the gun.

The DOJ’s complaint reads like a paranoid parent’s nightmare. They’re claiming Michigan can’t sue fossil fuel companies for climate damages because the Clean Air Act gives the feds exclusive authority over greenhouse gas regulation. Federal supremacy, they cry. States can’t fragment national climate policy, they insist. Michigan hasn’t even filed anything yet, but apparently that’s beside the point.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel isn’t having it. Her motion to dismiss basically says the feds are being ridiculous. How can you block a lawsuit that doesn’t exist? There’s no case, no controversy, just federal hand-wringing about what Michigan might do someday. Nessel calls it intimidation, an attempt to chill state climate accountability efforts before they even start.

The irony is thick here. While Michigan prepares to potentially sue Big Oil for climate damage, the state approved 23 new oil and gas permits in 2025. Nothing says “we’re serious about climate change” like drilling more wells while drafting lawsuits. The state’s contradictory approach ignores how fossil fuel consumption accounts for over 75% of global emissions.

This fight is bigger than Michigan. States and cities across the country are trying to make fossil fuel companies pay for climate impacts. Hawaii has already proceeded forward with its own climate liability lawsuit, refusing to wait for federal permission. The feds filed an identical lawsuit against Hawaii on the same day, showing their coordinated effort to block state climate litigation nationwide. The feds want to shut it all down, arguing the Clean Air Act makes climate regulation their exclusive playground. Michigan argues states have rights too, especially when dealing with localized climate impacts.

The DOJ’s lawsuit reads like bureaucratic fear-mongering. They’re worried about “undermining federal climate policy uniformity” and states “extracting large settlements.” Meanwhile, Michigan just wants to develop its case in peace, joining other states holding the fossil fuel sector accountable.

This legal chess match reveals the messy reality of American federalism. Who gets to regulate what? Who can sue whom? The feds say only they can handle climate regulation. Michigan says that’s nonsense. And somewhere, fossil fuel executives are probably enjoying the show while states and feds duke it out.