The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by Sunoco and other oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate change induced by the burning of fossil fuels.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether federal law prevents states and cities from suing oil and gas companies over the effects of climate change, clearing the way for the cases to move forward.

The Supreme Court dealt a major setback to the oil industry on Monday, refusing to block lawsuits from California and other blue states that seek billions of dollars in damages for the impact of climate change.