Environmental Law
Climate change suit alleging energy companies created public nuisance may proceed, top state court says
Kelsey Cascadia Rose Juliana of Oregon, the lead plaintiff in Juliana v. United States, a climate-related lawsuit filed in 2015 and dismissed in 2020, speaks at a rally in June 2019. (Photo by Steve Dipaola/The Associated Press)
Two energy companies accused of contributing to climate change can be sued in state court, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week.
In a May 12 decision, the state supreme court ruled 5-2 that tort law claims against Suncor Energy and the Exxon Mobil Corp. are not preempted by federal interstate pollution law, report Colorado Public Radio, Reuters and a May 12 press release.
Tort claims in the lawsuit by the city of Boulder, Colorado, and Boulder County, Colorado, included:
• Public and private nuisance claims alleging that fossil fuel activities threaten the public’s right to enjoy public parks, the right to safety, the right to pursue public health and well-being, and the plaintiffs’ use of their real property.
• Trespass claims alleging that the defendants’ actions invaded real property in the form of floodwaters, fires, hail, rain, snow, wind and invasive species.
• Unjust enrichment claims alleging that the defendants profited from the production and sale of fossil fuel products sufficient to change the climate.
• Conspiracy claims alleging that the defendants acted together to maintain or increase fossil fuel usage at levels known to alter the climate.
The suit seeks damages to cover the cost of responding to climate change, including wildfire response, flood control and the repair of damage to buildings.
Elise Otten, a government affairs official with the Exxon Mobil Corp., told Colorado Public Radio in a statement that the company thinks that the case is meritless and does not belong in state court.
“We’ll continue to fight these claims, but more importantly, [we] will continue to provide millions of Americans with the products needed every day to power their lives and homes while investing up to $30 billion in lower-emission initiatives through 2030,” Otten told Colorado Public Radio.
The Colorado Supreme Court is the second top state court to allow a climate change suit to move forward, according to the press release. After a decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court, the state agreed in 2024 to cut emissions of carbon dioxide in its transportation system in a settlement with the nonprofit group Our Children’s Trust.
Also in 2024, the Montana Supreme Court struck down a state law banning consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in fossil-fuel-permitting decisions.
See also:
Nation’s first youth climate lawsuits to go to trial
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