Supreme Court hears Boulder County climate lawsuit against energy producers

Conservative attorney Christopher Mills argues in the Washington Examiner that Boulder County's climate lawsuit against energy producers is an unconstitutional attempt to set national energy policy through state courts. The case, Suncor Energy v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, reaches the Supreme Court after being filed in Colorado state court in 2018. Boulder claims oil and gas companies contributed to local climate harms and seeks damages, while critics say the real goal is a carbon tax by litigation. The piece points to similar lawsuits filed by Multnomah County and more than three dozen other jurisdictions. Mills contends that letting these cases proceed would let any local government regulate emissions nationwide, bypassing Congress. He argues the framers gave national questions to Congress and that courts should not let one county dictate energy production in other states. For anyone tracking climate policy, the case is a key test of whether climate damages suits can move forward in state courts. The Supreme Court's decision could either open the door to more litigation or push climate liability debates back to Congress.