The Supreme Court will hear a major case this fall that could shut down costly lawsuits against oil companies over their alleged role in global climate change, and both environmental groups and Democratic politicians have urged the justices to keep those lawsuits alive.
The high court will hear arguments in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County to begin its term in October, with the case set to have sweeping ramifications for similar lawsuits that climate activists and Democratic-led jurisdictions have attempted to bring against oil companies, either allowing them to proceed or shutting them down as barred by federal law. The Justice Department, oil companies, and various conservative groups have asked the high court to shut down these lawsuits, while various left-wing groups have urged the Supreme Court to consider the environmental harms at the center of the lawsuits and allow them to proceed.
