New Supreme Court term begins with a climate change case seeking to hold energy companies liable
NBC News · LC · trust 51/100
Although the case concerns a specific lawsuit the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, brought against Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy, the ultimate decision could have broad ramifications for more than two dozen similar lawsuits around the country.
Boulder officials say they face increasing costs because of the impacts of climate change, including efforts to minimize risks from wildfires. Just this summer, Colorado has experienced extreme heat, drought and multiple fires .
The lawsuit, bringing claims under state law, says Exxon and Suncor misled consumers about the impact greenhouse gases that their products produce would have on the climate.
The companies deny the allegations and warn that if the Boulder lawsuit and others like it are able to move forward to trial, they and other energy companies could face crippling damages in the billions of dollars. They also argue climate change is such an inherently national and international issue that it cannot be the subject of litigation in state courts.
The case is the first to be argued in the courtroom as the new nine-month term begins after a summer break for the justices. Other major cases already on the docket involve a challenge to bans on AR-15 semiautomatic rifles and two about the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies .
The Aspen Acres Fire is ongoing and ranks as the seventh biggest fire in Colorado history. Michael Ciaglo / Getty The oral arguments will take place Monday with just eight justices, as conservative Justice Samuel Alito announced last week that he would step aside. He did not say why; liberal groups have said for months that he should recuse himself because he owns stocks in other oil companies that could benefit from a ruling in favor of Exxon and Suncor. Alito’s decision was a surprise, as the court had told NBC News in May there was no need for him to step aside.
The absence of one member of the court’s conservative majority is viewed as a blow to the oil companies, as his vote might have been crucial. It also raises the possibility of a 4-4 split that would leave the big legal issues unresolved and allow the Colorado lawsuit to move forward.
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The companies have two main arguments. The broader argument is that under the Constitution, states simply do not have the authority to do anything related to greenhouse gas emissions because they would effectively be regulating outside their own borders. Only the federal government can set policy in inherently nationwide issues that also have foreign policy implications, the lawyers said in court papers.
“Because air and water are shared natural resources that flow without concern for political borders, the States each have their own potentially conflicting interests. By joining the Union, the States surrendered their right to resolve those conflicts by resorting to their own law in lieu of a neutral, uniform federal law,” the lawyers wrote.…
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