The U.S. Supreme Court gave Honolulu, Hawaii officials something to cheer about this week after a landmark decision involving the fossil fuel industry was issued.

According to reports, the high court "voted to allow Honolulu officials to proceed with a lawsuit against the dirty fuel industry for an alleged decades-long misinformation campaign."

The decision was five years in the making, as the original lawsuits filed against "Sunoco and Shell along with 15 other energy companies for infringements of state law."

The argued that Big Oil created a public nuisance while failing to warn the general public of the risks posed by the products created from it.

What happened?

The energy companies fought back hard and deployed all possible legal avenues to prevent the lawsuits from moving forward.

The outlet noted:

However, the decision was quickly petitioned by the accused oil companies. In an attempt to block the lawsuit, the defendants sought to bring the case in front of federal judges, arguing that state courts cannot rule on interstate affairs.

They argued that the issue of climate change was a federal level issue and couldn't be argued in a state court.

But the Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2023.

Ben Sullivan, executive director and chief resilience officer for the city and county of Honolulu's Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency, issued a statement on the high court's decision.

"This landmark decision upholds our right to enforce Hawai'i laws in Hawai'i courts, ensuring the protection of Hawai'i taxpayers and communities from the immense costs and consequences of the climate crisis caused by the defendants' misconduct," he said.

What next?

While none of the cases have gone to trial, the high court's ruling will pave the way for that to possibly happen.

The companies that stand to be sued have virtually unlimited resources and will undoubtedly put up an epic legal fight.

It'll be interesting to see how the lawsuits play out in court, as any wins by the plaintiffs would have massive implications for American energy independence.

Only time will tell which side ends up victorious, but for the sake of energy independence, it better not be the climate change crew.