Supreme Court Grants Cert in Colorado Climate Liability Case

The Court’s February 23, 2026 order granting certiorari in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County is notable not only for what it accepted but for what it added. Beyond the question presented by the petition, the Court directed the parties to brief and argue whether it has statutory and Article III jurisdiction to hear the case at all. That self-generated jurisdictional question signals the Court’s awareness of threshold complications before it reaches the merits. As the Volokh Conspiracy noted on the day of the grant, this brings climate change liability back to the Court in a new posture.

Boulder County sued Suncor and other energy companies under Colorado state law, alleging that their greenhouse-gas emissions contributed to climate-related harms. The case traveled through the Colorado courts, with the energy companies arguing throughout that federal law displaces such state-law claims. The petition was distributed for conference five times before the Court acted, suggesting the justices deliberated carefully before granting.

The central merits question is whether federal law forecloses state tort suits targeting interstate and international emissions. The Court’s decision to add a jurisdictional question suggests it may be uncertain whether the case arrived through the proper procedural channel, which could affect the scope of any ruling on preemption. Fourteen amicus briefs, including filings from the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, reflect the breadth of industry interest in the outcome.

A ruling for the energy companies could effectively end the wave of state and municipal climate liability suits filed across the country. A ruling for Boulder County could open state courts as a forum for climate damages claims that federal courts have largely turned away. The full docket is available through the Court’s website. Attorneys Philip S. Goldberg and Mark Andrew Perry are among counsel in the case.