Dozens Of Amicus Briefs Challenge Boulder Climate Case Before SCOTUS

By: Kyle Kohli | Complete Colorado

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in the now 8-year old Boulder climate lawsuit, more than three dozen amicus briefs submitted in the case have made the same essential point: Boulder’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies is an unconstitutional attempt to use state courts to dictate national energy and climate policy, and the high court should put a stop to it.  

The briefs represent one of the broadest coalitions to weigh in on climate litigation in years, spanning the U.S. Department of Justice, 78 members of Congress, 27 state attorneys general, energy-producing Colorado counties, former senior national security officials and major business, legal and policy organizations. 

Ahead of oral arguments this fall, here’s what they are saying:  

Boulder’s claims preempted by federal law

The U.S. Department of Justice led with a no-nonsense warning about the danger of allowing local governments to use state law to regulate a global issue:  

“This case presents a basic question: Can one city wield one State’s law to dictate how the rest of the world must address a global problem with global effects? The Constitution supplies the answer: Absolutely not […] 

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