About half a dozen members of Oregon’s congressional delegation say the Trump administration’s executive order challenging state climate policies that impact the fossil fuel industry may further delay Multnomah County’s $52 billion climate lawsuit against Big Oil.

The Protecting American Energy from State Overreach Executive Order, which was signed in April, authorizes U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to take “all appropriate action to stop the enforcement” of state and local laws “purporting to address climate change or involving environmental, social, and governance initiatives, environmental justice, carbon or greenhouse gas emissions, and funds to collect carbon penalties or carbon taxes.”

Last week, seven members of Oregon’s congressional delegation wrote a letter urging the Trump administration to rescind the order, which an attorney for Multnomah County said could lead to total immunity for Big Oil from any accountability from damages caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

The letter writers, both U.S. state Senators and Oregon’s five Democratic House representatives, said the executive order “threatens the ability of states and localities to hold polluters responsible for the costs of their actions.”

“This is an unprecedented and illegal attempt to undermine states’ sovereignty to enforce their own laws,” the letter continued.

The congressional delegation is asking the administration to repeal the executive order “so that states are able to protect their citizens as they see fit.”

A heat dome, deaths and Multnomah County’s lawsuit

Two years after a deadly heat dome hovered and scorched much of the Pacific Northwest and claimed hundreds of lives in the United States and Canada, Multnomah County filed a $52 billion civil lawsuit against fossil fuel companies over their role contributing to climate change, which led to the extreme heatwave.

The heat dome, which broke high temperature records across the region, lasted for a week and claimed dozens of lives in Multnomah County.

Most people who died were found alone in their homes with no air-conditioning units. According to a report published by the county, there were a total of 72 heat-related deaths in 2021, 69 of which happened during the heat dome event. In a typical year, there are zero heat-related deaths.

According to the lawsuit, the named fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, “rapaciously sell fossil fuel products and deceptively promote them as harmless to the environment,” leading to disasters like the heat dome.

At the time, Multnomah County commissioners said the lawsuit was about accountability and fairness while it also sought compensation for damage from the heat dome event, as well as compensation for future extreme weather events and funds to better prepare for a changing climate.

Multnomah County adds NW Natural to $52 billion lawsuit against fossil fuel companies

Some researchers and scientists said the heat wave was virtually impossible without human-caused climate change. Other research found it was a freak event that should only happen once in 10,000 years, but was made hotter because of climate change.

When the Trump executive order was issued earlier this year, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said her team was committed to continuing to implement the state’s climate action laws.

Roger Worthington, a co-counsel for Multnomah County’s lawsuit, said the executive order is an attack on the integrity of the scientific community.

“This executive order calls into question all types of legal and constitutional concerns — states’ rights and sovereignty, interference with judicial authority, an attempt to preempt state tort law without any legislative authority at all,” he said

So far, Multnomah County has responded to 26 opposition briefs in response to fossil fuel company’s multiple motions to dismiss the case. The defendants could rebut these briefs, which could take some time, Worthington said. Their next deadline is Oct. 7.

Customers accuse NW Natural of greenwashing, in lawsuit over its carbon reduction program

The judge overseeing the case could allow the case to move forward to a trial, which could take months, or could dismiss the case.

If the county is allowed to move forward with the lawsuit, Worthington said, he believes the case is supported by law and there are claims that support the damages resulting from climate change caused by the defendants.

“Then we can engage in discovery and then we could potentially get to a jury trial,” he said. “That is the goal of Multnomah County, to get the evidence, get the experts in front of a jury.”

NW Natural among those accused of greenhouse gas emissions

There are 25 named defendants, with 13 of them representing oil and gas companies.

NW Natural is a named defendant in the lawsuit and Oregon’s largest gas utility and serves more than 2.5 million people across the Pacific Northwest. When OPB asked about the letter and how the executive order could potentially impact Multnomah County’s lawsuit, the company said it did not have any comment.

The company was added to the lawsuit a year after the first filing. Multnomah County claimed in the lawsuit that NW Natural is responsible for contributing to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and carbon pollution, and said the company has sought to disseminate misinformation about climate harm caused by carbon emissions.

There are currently 29 climate accountability lawsuits throughout the country against fossil fuel companies.

When Trump issued his executive order in April, he gave Bondi 60 days to report on whether action would be necessary to “stop the enforcement” of state actions to target the fossil fuel industry. It is unclear if she met that deadline.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/25/multco-lawsuit-big-oil-trump-delays/