The Unexpected Consequences of Climate Change on Government Finance

Late last year, seven California jurisdictions (now eight) have filed public nuisance climate lawsuits against five large integrated oil and gas companies, including California-based Chevron. In these lawsuits, the local governments blamed these 17 fossil fuel companies for the near-certain harm their communities face in the future. At the same time, however, all of the local governments failed to disclose anything about the risk in the municipal bond offerings. In fact, a recent investor analyst review of the municipal bonds, the municipalities either denied they had the ability to predict any risk related to rising sea levels or climate change, and yet others omitted any mention of the risks they laid out in their public nuisance lawsuits.

This panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Michael Shires, is designed to focus less on the various climate change policies needed to reduce and curb greenhouse gas emissions, and more on the impact these potential lawsuits have on municipal bonds and the potential risks to taxpayers in the near-term.

Panelists:

Anthony T. Caso, Professor, Clinical Faculty at Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Chapman University

Marc Joffe, Senior Policy Analyst at The Reason Foundation

Francis Menton, Law Office of Francis Menton 

Moderator:

Michael Shires, Associate Dean for Strategy and Special Projects Director of Assessment and Associate Professor of Public Policy, School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University.