Despite President Donald Trump declaring victory in the battle against climate hysteria, California passed two laws (Senate Bill 253 and Senate Bill 261) two years ago mandating that these companies publicly disclose detailed greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks, covering not just direct emissions but also those from supply chains and product usage.

Meanwhile the rest of the country enjoys gasoline at about $3.00 per gallon, yet Californians are shelling out $4.54—and prices are poised to climb even further as the Golden State’s refineries shut down. Consequently, late last week, Exxon Mobil sued California, claiming that SB 253 and SB 261 infringe on the oil giant’s First Amendment rights asserting that the California statutes require the fossil fuel company to speculate about future environmental impacts. From The New York Times:

The two laws, passed in 2023 and known as the California Climate Accountability Package, would require thousands of large companies doing business in the state to calculate and report the greenhouse gas emissions created by the use of their products, along with the business risks that climate change represents for the companies.

Requiring companies to calculate the climate damage caused by people using their products is a major change. In the past, climate regulations have generally required companies to report their own corporate emissions, but not emissions caused by people using the products that they manufacture and sell.

For oil companies like Exxon, the new rules, which begin to take effect in 2026, mean calculating and then reporting the emissions caused by activities like the use of gas or diesel in cars and trucks. Transportation is one of the major contributors to the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which warm the world by acting as a blanket in the atmosphere, trapping the heat of the sun.

Exxon’s lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, argued that the laws would force the company to use flawed methodology to calculate these emissions and would misrepresent the role that Exxon and its products play in warming the world. The suit asked a judge to block the state from enforcing the laws against it.

As political tides shift sharply, Exxon Mobil and solid science might finally stand a chance of winning.

Gavin Newsom as the Joker.