The Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case involving oil companies’ attempt to end climate change lawsuits could have significant implications for the future of climate litigation in the US. The case, brought by the city of Boulder and Boulder County, seeks to hold oil companies accountable for the costs of climate change.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an attempt by energy companies to throw out a lawsuit filed in Colorado seeking to hold them accountable for the costs of climate change. The court’s ultimate ruling in the case will have national implications, likely determining whether similar lawsuits filed by cities and municipalities across the country seeking billions of dollars in damages can move forward.
Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy are appealing a May 2025 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that said the lawsuit brought by the city of Boulder and Boulder County could move forward in state court. The lawsuit claims that the companies, via their marketing, production, and sale of fossil fuels, bear responsibility for the harms caused by climate change, including extreme temperatures and more frequent wildfires.
The companies argue that climate policy is a purely federal issue, in part because pollution crosses state lines and cannot be addressed on a piecemeal basis. Air pollution is regulated via the federal Clean Air Act, but more comprehensive efforts to combat climate change at the national level have stalled, with President Donald Trump’s administration particularly opposed to addressing the issue.
The Trump and Biden administrations took different positions on the legal question in the case, with the former backing the companies and the latter opposing them. The Trump administration took the rare step of filing a brief urging the court to take up the Boulder case even though the federal government is not directly involved in the litigation.
The Boulder case is one of a string of similar lawsuits filed by cities and other government entities around the country against energy companies, including BP, Chevron, and Shell. The Supreme Court in 2023 turned down an earlier attempt by energy companies to nix the lawsuits.
Previously, the Supreme Court in 2021 ruled in favor of oil companies on a procedural issue in a related lawsuit brought by the city of Baltimore.
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