The Supreme Court has agreed to consider two oil companies’ attempt to toss out a swath of climate lawsuits filed against the fossil fuel industry — but not without sounding a potential note of skepticism.
The justices’ Monday order agreeing to take up Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy’s argument that federal law bars local governments from suing them in state courts is a preliminary win for the industry, which could be forced to pay billions of dollars in damages as a result of the litigation from mostly Democratic-led cities and states from Maine to Hawaii.
The National Association of Manufacturers, which opposes the climate liability lawsuits, welcomed the decision, with Phil Goldberg, special counsel for the association’s Manufacturers’ Accountability Project, calling it a “decisive step toward resolving conflicting rulings nationwide and reaffirming that climate policy belongs with elected policymakers — not the courts.”
The association had urged the court to hear the case, which centers on a 2025 Colorado Supreme Court decision that allowed a climate lawsuit brought by Boulder to proceed in state court.
