US Supreme Court Takes Up Climate Accountability Lawsuit
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in a climate accountability lawsuit, marking the first occasion the high court has addressed such a case. The ruling could significantly impact the surge of climate litigation seen across the United States in recent years.
“It’s not a good sign,” said Pat Parenteau, a professor of environmental law at Vermont Law and Graduate School.
Background of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit was initiated by the city of Boulder, Colorado, against two major oil companies: Suncor Energy USA and ExxonMobil Corporation. Following the Colorado Supreme Court's refusal to dismiss the lawsuit, the defendants petitioned the US Supreme Court to halt the case, arguing that federal laws pre-empt the claims.
Potential Outcomes and Implications
If the Supreme Court rules against the defendants, it would be a significant victory for climate accountability efforts, allowing Boulder and other plaintiffs with similar cases to continue their litigation. It could also encourage other governmental entities to pursue comparable lawsuits.
Conversely, if the justices side with the oil companies, the Boulder case could be dismissed, potentially affecting more than a dozen other cases making similar claims.
“The expectation is that [the justices] are probably going to give the oil companies some kind of win,” said Parenteau.
Legal Questions and Complications
The defendants have asked the Supreme Court to determine whether federal law precludes the claims made in the lawsuit. This legal question is complicated by a recent decision from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump administration, which repealed a foundational legal determination that enabled the federal government to regulate climate-warming pollution.
In reviewing the petition, the Supreme Court may decide to first consider whether the repeal of the endangerment finding affects the pre-emption argument. Alternatively, the Court might proceed without factoring in the rollback, according to Parenteau.
Jurisdictional Authority Under Review
In addition to examining the legal arguments, the Supreme Court justices have indicated they will "brief and argue" whether they have the authority to hear the case at this time.
“Today’s announcement makes clear the justices do not agree whether the court even has the authority to hear Boulder’s case at this time,” said Alyssa Johl, vice-president of legal and general counsel at the Center for Climate Integrity, a non-profit organization tracking and supporting climate accountability cases. “The court should uphold what the Colorado supreme court and others have made clear: communities like Boulder have the right to seek accountability in their state courts when corporations have knowingly caused local harms.”
If the Court determines it lacks jurisdiction, the petition could be dismissed, potentially emboldening plaintiffs.
“This is an unprecedented situation,” Parenteau said. “I don’t know how they’re going to handle this.”
Impact on Ongoing Climate Litigation
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's decision to take up the petition could delay proceedings in climate accountability cases nationwide, as courts await the high court's ruling.
“At a minimum, it’s going to freeze all these cases, because the state courts are going to say, ‘why should we go to the trouble of having trials in these cases if, in fact, the supreme court might throw them all out,’” Parenteau said.
Context of Climate Litigation in the US
In recent years, US states, cities, and other subnational governments have filed lawsuits against major oil companies, accusing them of misleading the public about the climate impacts of their products. The latest government to join this wave of litigation is the state of Michigan, which filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute, the nation's largest fossil fuel lobby group.
Last year, the Supreme Court denied requests to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Honolulu and rejected an unusual attempt by several Republican-led states to block such cases.
