Nearly a decade ago, the outdoorsy, liberal enclave of Boulder, Colo., sued two oil companies over their role in climate change. Now, the Supreme Court will consider whether the groundbreaking lawsuit can ever go to trial.<\/p>\n
Its decision will resonate far beyond the Rockies.<\/p>\n
A win for Boulder would likely clear the way for dozens of similar lawsuits nationwide aiming to extract billions of dollars from the fossil fuel industry to fight global warming. But if the court kills Boulder\u2019s case, that could doom the others, handing a major victory to oil companies.<\/p>\n
Boulder\u2019s lawsuit says the two oil companies, Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy, should help pay for the damage to the state of Colorado \u2014 such as worsening heat waves and wildfires \u2014 caused by climate change, which is driven by the burning of fossil fuels. The companies say Boulder\u2019s lawsuit should be thrown out because it was filed under state law, when federal law should have precedence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very much the case to watch because it\u2019s at the Supreme Court,\u201d said Michael Pappas, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School. \u201cIs this something that state law can answer, or does federal law foreclose the opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n
A small army of business groups, conservative legal theorists, Republican lawmakers and others have lined up to support<\/a> Exxon and Suncor, and the Trump administration is also expected to argue before the court in support of the companies.<\/p>\n Among their claims: Letting the case proceed under state law would unleash legal chaos by opening the door to countless similar suits. \u201cEvery locality in the country could sue essentially anyone in the world for contributing to global climate change,\u201d according to a brief supporting the energy industry<\/a> filed by lawyers for the Trump administration. The Justice Department declined to comment for this article.<\/p>\n