Supreme Court's new term kicks off with blockbuster climate change case
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term → kick → case
Supreme Court's new term kicks off with blockbuster climate change case
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term → kick → case
A new Supreme Court term begins Monday with arguments in a blockbuster case about the reach of state power.
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term → begin → power
Boulder, Colo., is suing two big energy companies, arguing they deceived people about the harms of fossil fuels and contributed to disasters that cost Boulder a lot of time and money.
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that → sue → time
The dispute could have ramifications far beyond the climate, to other areas where states are trying to hold companies accountable for their alleged harms to local communities.
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companies → have → communities
In 2018, Boulder County slapped the giant energy companies Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil with a lawsuit.
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County → slap → lawsuit
Boulder argued the companies and a trade group knew decades ago that fossil fuels would hurt the environment, raising the risk of floods, extreme heat and wildfires.
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fuels → argue → floods
Three years later, in late December 2021, the Marshall Fire swept across the county.
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Fire → sweep → county
Daryl McCool left her home southeast of Boulder so fast she couldn't remember whether she locked the front door.
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she → leave → door
As it turned out, that didn't matter.
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that → turn → ?
"There's basically nothing left," McCool said.
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McCool → be → ?
"A 2,000-degree fire burns everything, like coins were melted, bicycles melted."
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bicycles → burn → everything
The historic 1901 house where she raised her son had turned to ash.
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she → raise → ash
McCool spent years helping her neighbors file insurance papers and apply for grants to rebuild their homes.
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neighbors → spend → homes
Now, she tries to educate people about the human costs of climate change.
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she → try → change
Who has power to grapple with climate change
Corey Riday-White is legal director at the Center for Climate Integrity.
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White → grapple → Integrity
It supports communities trying to hold oil companies responsible for environmental harms.
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companies → support → harms
"This case represents whether or not we believe as a society that corporations should be held to the same standards that all of us are, right?" Riday-White said.
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White → represent → us
"If you know you are going to cause harm, and you don't tell someone, then you should help clean up that harm."
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you → know → harm
Boulder's lawsuit has not gone to trial; it's still in the early stages in the Colorado court system.
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it → go → system
But the energy companies are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the case now.
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companies → ask → case
The companies say only the federal government has the power and expertise to grapple with something as big as climate change.
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government → say → change
To let Boulder's case proceed, they say, would have huge implications.
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they → let → implications
"This is about whether a bunch of rich hippies in Boulder County are allowed to dictate environment and energy policy to the entire rest of the world," Zywicki said in a recent webinar about the case.
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Zywicki → allow → case
Exxon referred NPR to the company's court filings.
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Exxon → refer → filings
Suncor didn't respond to an email requesting comment.
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Suncor → respond → comment
The Trump administration is siding with the energy companies, arguing global warming is a global issue.
"Essentially Boulder claims that Colorado can reach around the United States, the entirety of the United States, and to my mind, regulate production everywhere by attaching liability to it," said Sai Prakash, a law professor at the University of Virginia who filed a friend of the court brief backing Suncor and Exxon.
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who → side → Suncor
"It Boulder can attach liability to these two companies …
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Boulder → attach → companies
I think it can attach liability to thousands of others as well," Prakash said.
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Prakash → think → others
Seeking to recover past and future costs
Boulder argues it's not suing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
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it → seek → emissions
Rather, it says, it wants to recover past and future costs of repairs, emergency services, and property damage.
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it → say → repairs
Dozens of similar cases where states and municipalities are suing energy giants have been moving through the courts at early stages.
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states → sue → stages
Any Supreme Court ruling could have repercussions for many of them.
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ruling → have → them
Jonathan Adler, a law professor at the College of William and Mary, points out in court papers that Congress has the authority to override state laws here, but federal lawmakers haven't done anything.
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lawmakers → point → anything
Corey Riday-White, of the Center for Climate Integrity, said for the justices interested in ruling based on the text of the Constitution or federal statutes, there is not much to support Suncor and Exxon.
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White → say → Suncor
"They want the court to say, you can't bring any of these cases in court because this is the purview of the federal government," Riday-White said.
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White → want → government
"The problem is the big oil companies can't point to any legal doctrine, any statute, any part of the Constitution that backs up that finding.
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that → point → finding
"
How the court decides to draw the lines on state power could influence a lot more than climate litigation, according to Deepak Gupta, who regularly argues before the high court.
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who → decide → court
"Pollution by forever chemicals, nuisance suits over AI data centers, opioids litigation, all of these are about the local effects of conduct that runs across borders," Gupta said at a recent briefing sponsored by Georgetown's Supreme Court Institute.
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Gupta → run → Institute
The conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court may be uncomfortable letting state juries decide some of these pressing issues.
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juries → let → issues
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
