The Supreme Court is declining to hear an appeal from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change.

Defendants Sunoco and Shell, along with 15 other energy companies, had asked the court to intervene and stop the Hawaii lawsuits from proceeding. They had hoped to move the cases out of Hawaii state courts by arguing that interstate pollution is governed by federal law and the Clean Air Act.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Maryland’s handgun licensing regime, as well as a pair of cases seeking to hold oil and gas companies responsible for damage caused by climate change.

The U.S. Supreme Court buttressed efforts by environmental advocates to hold oil companies accountable for climate change.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear challenges to a similar suit brought by Honolulu, which seeks some compensation from oil companies for the effects of climate change.

Energy producers facing a climate lawsuit from the city of Honolulu are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case, which could have sweeping

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by Sunoco and other oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate change induced by the burning of fossil fuels.

The high court declined to hear a challenge to a major case in which Honolulu is suing energy companies over climate change.

The Supreme Court dealt a major setback to the oil industry on Monday, refusing to block lawsuits from California and other blue states that seek billions of dollars in damages for the impact of climate change.