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National Academies Report: Attribution Science Enables $50B Climate Lawsuit

7/17/2026

Summary

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a 252-page report on extreme-event attribution science Thursday.
The report says attribution methods are now more sophisticated, use better data, and could help hold fossil-fuel firms accountable for extreme-weather damage.
Fossil-fuel industry groups and Republican lawmakers called the report a climate-litigation tool.
They noted its use in Multnomah County’s $50 billion lawsuit linking a 2021 heat wave to human-caused climate change.

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Story summary

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a 252-page report on extreme-event attribution science Thursday.
The report says attribution methods are now more sophisticated, use better data, and could help hold fossil-fuel firms accountable for extreme-weather damage.
Fossil-fuel industry groups and Republican lawmakers called the report a climate-litigation tool.
They noted its use in Multnomah County’s $50 billion lawsuit linking a 2021 heat wave to human-caused climate change.