The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Feb. 23 to hear a case surrounding climate change allegations against oil and gas companies brought by the city of Boulder, Colorado.
According to Boulder County, the city argues that Exxon Mobil and Suncor’s operations have contributed to climate alteration and created conditions where state residents must shoulder the costs of addressing the impacts. The city also claims the companies knew they were contributing to climate change and sought to conceal the dangers of fossil fuels.
Making claims under state law, the city seeks to compel the companies to help pay for climate control measures. However, Exxon Mobil and Suncor argue the alleged pollution is coming from outside the state and say they are protected by federal environmental laws. The companies have asked the Supreme Court to determine the hierarchy of regulations, SCOTUSblog reported.
“Energy companies that produce and sell fossil fuels are facing numerous lawsuits in state courts across the Nation seeking billions of dollars in damages for injuries allegedly caused by the contribution of greenhouse-gas emissions to global climate change,” the companies wrote to the Supreme Court, according to SCOTUSblog.
The companies also said that the Supreme Court has recognized for over a century that “the structure of our constitutional system does not permit a State to provide relief under state law for injuries allegedly caused by pollution emanating from outside the State.”
The case arrived at the Supreme Court following a decision from the Colorado Supreme Court last year, which favored Boulder. The state Supreme Court held at the time that the companies were arguing “that a vague federal interest over interstate pollution, climate change, and energy policy must preempt Boulder’s claims.”
The federal government supported the companies’ appeal to the Supreme Court by filing a friend of the court brief that called for the justices to take the case, writing, “Colorado … may not apply its law to the companies’ conduct outside the state.”
According to SCOTUSblog, the Supreme Court will likely hear oral arguments in the fall and issue a decision by the end of the year.