Puerto Rico has decided to drop its 2024 climate lawsuit against major oil companies, as revealed in a recent legal filing. The lawsuit, filed in July, accused these companies of misleading the public about the environmental risks associated with their products. This move by Puerto Rico comes amidst a larger wave of similar litigations filed by numerous US states, cities, and municipalities in recent years.

The decision to dismiss the lawsuit follows the US Justice Department’s recent lawsuits against two states planning to sue oil companies over their role in the climate crisis. President Donald Trump’s administration has been vocal in its opposition to these cases, labeling them as “frivolous” and arguing that they are unconstitutional. In a court filing, the Justice Department claimed that the Clean Air Act supersedes states’ authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions beyond their borders.

Notably, Puerto Rico’s dismissal of the lawsuit did not provide a specific reason, prompting speculation about potential connections to the Trump administration’s legal actions. The involvement of Republican Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, an ally of Trump, and the appointment of a new attorney general in February add further context to the situation.

Critics of climate-related litigation, including the far-right legal figure Leonard Leo and groups like the American Energy Institute, have campaigned against such lawsuits, claiming they could have detrimental effects on energy companies and the nation as a whole. The voluntary dismissal of the Puerto Rico lawsuit comes after a series of attacks on climate-focused legal efforts in various sectors, indicating the complex landscape surrounding environmental accountability in the current legal and political climate.