Two members have left a 15-person National Academies panel on extreme-weather attribution as Republican lawmakers and Argus Insight intensify scrutiny ahead of a report due as soon as this month.
At least nine public-records requests sought panelists’ emails and links to climate litigators, part of a broader effort critics say is aimed at discrediting attribution science before it gains weight in court.
The stakes are rising because the science increasingly ties specific disasters to fossil-fuel emissions and is already underpinning lawsuits, including Multnomah County’s roughly $51 billion claim over a 2021 heat dome that killed 69 people.
A 2022 industry analysis warned fossil-fuel companies could face more than $100 billion in losses in a severe litigation scenario, and legal experts say a National Academies endorsement could help judges admit attribution evidence under evidentiary standards.
The National Academies says it is following normal peer-review procedures, while legal experts call the pressure on a single scientific committee unusually intense and part of a wider push to blunt climate-liability cases.
Could one scientific report trigger over $100 billion in climate lawsuits?
Why are scientists' emails being targeted before their climate report is even released?
When science itself is on trial, who can the courts trust for facts?
Blocking Climate Justice: The 2026 Legislative Drive to Protect Fossil Fuel Companies from Lawsuits and Financial Liability
Overview
In 2026, Republicans launched a coordinated campaign to protect major oil companies like Exxon, Shell, Chevron, and BP from being held legally responsible for climate change damages. These companies are facing lawsuits from state, local, and tribal governments, which claim the companies misled the public about the catastrophic risks of their products and seek to make them pay for resulting damages. At the federal level, Republicans are pushing for laws to shield these companies from such lawsuits, with the aim of integrating these protections into broader legislation. This strategy is designed to lay the groundwork for similar measures in the future.