SAN FRANCISCO — Lawyers for some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, and attorneys representing two Bay Area cities are set to descend on San Francisco Wednesday for what’s expected to be a courtroom first: A daylong lesson on the latest science on climate change.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California is overseeing a public nuisance lawsuit that the cities of Oakland and San Francisco filed last fall against six fossil fuel giants: BP plc, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell plc. The two waterfront cities are seeking to hold the oil companies liable for the cost of infrastructure upgrades and remediation expected as they deal with effects of rising sea levels.