The Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments in a case brought by Boulder, Colorado against oil companies Suncor and Exxon Mobil for damages related to climate change adaptation costs. The dispute centers on whether state courts have jurisdiction to hear the case, rather than the underlying question of corporate liability for climate impacts.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2018, has steadily progressed through Colorado’s court system despite oil industry efforts to dismiss it or move it to federal court. In May 2025, the state Supreme Court ruled the case should proceed in state courts, prompting the companies to seek intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Support for Boulder’s position has come from an unexpected coalition that crosses traditional partisan lines. While most Republican-aligned groups and business associations have sided with the oil companies, some prominent conservative voices have broken ranks. Environmental law professor Jonathan Adler at William & Mary Law School and two former EPA administrators under Republican administrations—Christine Todd Whitman and William Reilly—have argued that nothing in federal law or the Constitution prevents the lawsuit from proceeding in state court.
LocalColorado ranchers have emerged as particularly vocal supporters of Boulder’s case. These agricultural operators have experienced significant financial hardships from intensified heat, drought, wildfires, and flooding, with some facing bankruptcy after expensive emergency measures to sustain their herds. When Rio Blanco County spent taxpayer money to support the oil companies’ legal brief, ranchers organized to petition the Supreme Court on Boulder’s side.
The outcome carries substantial implications for numerous climate-related lawsuits filed by state and local governments nationwide. A Supreme Court decision favoring the oil companies could establish precedent limiting the ability of jurisdictions to hold fossil fuel companies accountable in state courts. Recent developments include Justice Samuel Alito’s recusal from the case, which reduces the likelihood that oil companies can secure the five-justice majority needed to prevail.
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