Michigan wants to take Big Oil to court on antitrust grounds

In the last decade, dozens of states, cities, and tribal nations have attempted to have their day in court with Big Oil, alleging that oil companies deceived the public about climate change. But a new suit filed by the state of Michigan is trying to take the oil giants to court on antitrust grounds.

“They're alleging that basically a bunch of fossil fuel companies all got together and coordinated a strategy to prevent the country from transitioning away from fossil fuels,” said Emily Pontecorvo, staff writer at Heatmap. “And they allege that they did things like they bought up patents and then restricted their use, basically all in a ploy to protect their market share.”

Pontecorvo wrote about the lawsuit for Heatmap, and spoke with “Marketplace” host Amy Scott about her reporting.

To hear their conversation, use the audio player above.