{"id":2606062,"date":"2026-05-22T18:30:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservatives-urge-supreme-court-to-quash-lawsuit-over-climate-change-harms\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T18:33:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:33:27","slug":"conservatives-urge-supreme-court-to-quash-lawsuit-over-climate-change-harms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservatives-urge-supreme-court-to-quash-lawsuit-over-climate-change-harms\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservatives urge Supreme Court to quash lawsuit over climate change harms"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconservatives-urge-supreme-court-to-quash-lawsuit-over-climate-change-harms%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2606062&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Justice Department and conservative groups are urging the Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Boulder County, Colorado, against oil companies. The county\u2019s case seeks money damages and other policy relief for alleged climate harms, but the DOJ argues the effort is unconstitutional because it improperly uses state law to regulate emissions effects beyond Colorado\u2019s borders-an area Congress and the federal government control through laws like the Clean Air act.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court is set to hear *Suncor energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County* in its next term beginning in October, and the ruling could determine whether similar climate-related lawsuits by local governments can proceed or are barred by federal preemption. Supporters of the oil companies say the Boulder approach would create an unlawful \u201cpatchwork\u201d of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-ai-executive-order-tees-up-likely-legal-clash-with-gop-states\/\" title=\"Trump AI executive order tees up likely legal clash with GOP states\">conflicting state rules<\/a>, harming consumers by reducing energy competition and raising prices. A group of Republican state attorneys general also argues that siding with Boulder would threaten affordable energy and state sovereignty.The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazon-excludes-conservatives-christians-from-their-charity-program\/\" title=\"Amazon Excludes Conservatives, Christians From Their Charity Program\">issue remains unresolved<\/a>: the Court has not yet scheduled oral arguments in the case.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"438\">Justice Department<\/a> and conservative groups have asked the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a> to quash lawsuits seeking money and policy changes from oil companies over alleged climate harms, as the high court weighs a Colorado county\u2019s lawsuit in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court will hear arguments in <em>Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County<\/em> in its next term, which begins in October, and decide whether a lawsuit brought by the county seeking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/your-tax-dollars-are-helping-katie-porter-promote-her-anti-corruption-crusade\/\" title=\"Your Tax Dollars Are Helping Katie Porter Promote Her Anti-Corruption Crusade\">hold oil companies accountable<\/a> for their alleged role in global climate change may move forward. The case will have sweeping ramifications for similar lawsuits that climate activists and Democratic-led jurisdictions have attempted to bring against oil companies, either allowing them to proceed or shutting them down as barred by federal law. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4579890\/trump-envoy-greenland-hormuz-energy-crisis\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump\u2019s envoy to Greenland pitches oil-rich island as answer to Hormuz energy crisis<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4578727\/exxon-oil-pump-deal-venezuela\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Exxon negotiating deal to pump oil in Venezuela after standoff with leaders<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4577953\/trump-rolls-back-biden-refrigerator-rules-grocery-prices\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump rolls back Biden refrigerator rules aimed to lower grocery prices<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a brief to the Supreme Court, the DOJ urged the justices to dismiss the lawsuit, warning that it seeks to regulate matters beyond the county\u2019s borders that only the federal government has the power to deal with.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis case presents a basic question: Can one city wield one State\u2019s law to dictate how the rest of the world must address a global problem with global effects? The Constitution supplies the answer: Absolutely not,\u201d Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote for the DOJ\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-170\/409590\/20260521184428959_25-170_Suncor_v_Boulder_Merits_FINAL.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-170\/409590\/20260521184428959_25-170_Suncor_v_Boulder_Merits_FINAL.pdf\">brief<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The brief argued that the federal government alone can bring such an action regulating domestic emissions, further alleging Boulder officials are trying to go beyond that by attempting to regulate global emissions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhereas Congress targeted only domestic emissions, Boulder would regulate the world,\u201d the DOJ\u2019s brief said. \u201cBoulder\u2019s state-law choices are no supplements to the federal scheme; they are its nemesis, thwarting [the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s] ability to determine whether and how to regulate stationary sources by allowing all 50 States to impose different regimes for different ends\u2014here, attempting to impose liability so unending and extreme that fossil-fuel producers may be forced out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis Court has never countenanced the notion that a single State could dictate how the entire country\u2014let alone the world\u2014addresses a global problem with indivisible global effects. The Constitution and the Clean Air Act foreclose that topsy-turvy result,\u201d the brief continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consumers\u2019\u00a0Research, a conservative\u00a0consumer\u00a0watchdog, warned in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-170\/409462\/20260521113038167_25-170_Amicus%20Brief.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-170\/409462\/20260521113038167_25-170_Amicus%20Brief.pdf\">brief<\/a> filed to the Supreme Court that allowing the lawsuit to go forward would \u201cwreak havoc on consumers\u201d and lead to a \u201cpatchwork of competing state-law commands\u201d on issues such as climate policy. The group also warned that upholding the Colorado Supreme Court\u2019s ruling \u2014 which said federal law does not preempt the state-law claims in the case \u2014 would likely \u201creduce competition, raise prices, and diminish the energy options available to American consumers in every State.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn our federal system, one State cannot govern the whole Nation. Yet the Colorado Supreme Court\u2019s judgment blesses Boulder County\u2019s efforts to do precisely that here. Invoking state nuisance law, Boulder County has obtained a judicial decree that regulates conduct occurring outside of Colorado\u2019s borders\u2014in States where that conduct was both lawful and beyond Colorado\u2019s sovereign authority,\u201d the brief from the consumer watchdog said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A group of Republican state attorneys general also filed a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-170\/409498\/20260521133537942_2026.05.21%20--%20States%20Br%20in%20Suncor%20v.%20Boulder.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-170\/409498\/20260521133537942_2026.05.21%20--%20States%20Br%20in%20Suncor%20v.%20Boulder.pdf\">brief<\/a> in support of the oil companies, warning that siding with Boulder would \u201cthreaten the availability of affordable energy and the sovereignty of States\u201d and that the county\u2019s actions are unlawful under the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA State cannot apply its home-state law to interstate emissions because of the \u2018basic interests of federalism.\u2019 The \u2018cardinal rule, underlying all the relations of the states to each other, is that of equality of right.\u2019 No State can \u2018enforce its own policy\u2019 on the others, so either Congress or \u2018interstate common law\u2019 must provide \u2018the rule which shall control,&#8217;\u201d said the brief from the 26 states, led by Alabama and West Virginia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4562772\/major-supreme-court-decisions-remainder-term\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4562772\">THE MAJOR SUPREME COURT DECISIONS REMAINING FOR THIS TERM<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Suncor Energy<\/em> case is one of 10 that the Supreme Court has already said it will hear oral arguments in during its upcoming term. The high court has yet to schedule arguments in the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court is still wrapping up its current term over the coming weeks. Some of the most <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4562772\/major-supreme-court-decisions-remainder-term\/\">notable outstanding cases<\/a> include challenges to President Donald Trump\u2019s birthright citizenship order and his firing power within the executive branch, as well as a pair of cases about <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >state laws banning biological men<\/a> from women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ and conservatives seek to dismiss oil climate lawsuits as Supreme Court weighs Boulder County case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2606063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP23056853466889.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[51667,4914,4585,32142,32275],"class_list":["post-2606062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-climate-change-2","tag-conservative","tag-lawsuit","tag-legal-action","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP23056853466889.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2606062"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2606066,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606062\/revisions\/2606066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2606063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2606062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2606062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2606062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}