The Supreme Court is hearing a case that could decide whether Boulder, Colorado, can seek payment from oil and gas companies for local disaster costs. The dispute also tests where state authority ends and federal control of emissions policy begins. Billions of dollars in climate litigation hang in the balance in the United States and around the world.
Who Controls the Claims
The city and county of Boulder sued Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil in 2018, accusing the companies of violating state law by deceiving the public about their contributions to climate change. Boulder seeks unspecified damages to help cover worsening disasters. The companies say state-court lawsuits aren't the proper way to address a global issue.
The Trump administration backs the companies. Federal attorneys argue that the lawsuits amount to a backdoor attempt to regulate heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions and an unconstitutional power grab. In their filing, they wrote, “No one state can superimpose its own regulatory preferences on the rest — least of all to address a global problem that exists almost entirely outside its borders and affects the world at large.”
The federal government says the Clean Air Act gives Washington, not the states, authority over emissions. That argument comes as the Republican administration has largely used federal power to roll back environmental regulations. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency repealed rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural-gas-fueled power plants, a move that could complicate the government’s case.
Boulder says its lawsuit isn't an effort to regulate emissions beyond its borders. The city and county want companies to pay local costs. Sam Sankar, senior vice president at Earthjustice, which filed an amicus brief, said, “Boulder County and city aren't trying to change what's happening in Texas or New York, they're trying to get compensation for things happening now in Colorado.”
Costs in Colorado
Tawnya Somauroo’s home in Louisville, Colorado, burned down less than an hour after the first warning that a wildfire was heading toward her suburban street. She has worked to rebuild her house and make her neighborhood better able to withstand another blaze. Somauroo worries that careful landscaping, metal fencing and flame-resistant siding won't be enough as climate change contributes to more frequent wildfires.
“We lost our homes and they left us to figure out for ourselves how to make our neighborhoods safe again,” Somauroo said. “At the end of the day, it comes out of our pockets, you know? And it does feel like maybe the oil and gas industry should have a part in this.”
Boulder County is one of dozens of U.S. jurisdictions suing oil and gas companies over damage from disasters linked to climate change. The county filed its lawsuit before the 2021 Marshall Fire destroyed Somauroo’s home. Officials estimated the damage at $2 billion, making it the costliest wildfire in Colorado history.
A Case With Wider Reach
The case is before a Supreme Court with a conservative majority. In a 2022 decision, the court limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Only eight of the nine justices will hear the Boulder case: Justice Samuel Alito recused himself a week before arguments after calls for him to step aside because he owns stock in oil companies. His recusal raised the possibility of a tie vote, though no one knew how likely that was.
The court is also weighing whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case at this stage. Experts called that question a potential “off-ramp.” Chris Winter, executive director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center, an environmental research group in Colorado, said local governments have an important role in helping frontline communities adapt to climate change, and that the case could set a precedent. Arguments were set to begin at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, the first day of the court’s new term.