State tort claims seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for the effects of climate change are pending in courts across the country, and many courts have grappled with whether these claims can go forward. The Trump administration wants to stop these lawsuits, and the United States has now asked the Supreme Court to help achieve this objective by rejecting the state tort claims in Suncor Energy v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County. If the Supreme Court hears the case and adopts the position the United States urges, similar cases could be dismissed.
This analysis, Suncor Energy v. Boulder County: The United States Urges the Supreme Court to Stop Climate Suits While EPA Questions Authority to Regulate Emissions, explains how United States’ recent Supreme Court filing is procedurally unusual, walks through the United States’ shifting strategy and position in similar cases, and identifies how EPA’s pending proposal to withdraw the foundation for federal greenhouse gas regulation might interact with state lawsuits like this one.