Supreme Court Weighs Whether Boulder Can Pursue Climate Damages From Oil Companies

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared split over whether to allow Boulder County’s lawsuit against oil companies to proceed, with the justices appearing to harbor reservations about both sides’ sweeping arguments during Monday’s hearing.

The high court heard oral arguments in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County on whether a lawsuit brought by the Colorado jurisdiction, which seeks to hold oil companies accountable for their alleged role in global climate change, can proceed.

The case is expected to have sweeping ramifications for similar lawsuits that climate activists and Democrat-led jurisdictions have attempted to bring against oil companies by either broadly allowing them to continue or shutting them down as barred by federal law.

The Boulder lawsuit claims oil companies should pay for knowingly deceiving people about climate risks associated with the use of fossil-fired energy. Boulder argues that the companies had not been forthcoming about what they knew about the climate risks of burning their products and that buyers used more fuel than they would have had they had been told.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE