Supreme Court Will Open October Term With Boulder Climate Preemption Case

Overview

• The Court placed Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County as the first argument of its October 2026 term, elevating a Colorado suit first filed in 2018 to the top of the docket.
• The United States, through Deputy Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris, sided with Suncor and urged the Court to find that the Clean Air Act and constitutional limits preempt one state from using tort law to regulate a global problem.
• The justices added a second question for argument about statutory and Article III jurisdiction, asking whether the Supreme Court can hear this interlocutory appeal before a final state‑court judgment.
• A decision for Suncor would likely block dozens of similar state and local climate lawsuits and limit industry liability while a decision for Boulder would allow state tort remedies to proceed against fossil‑fuel producers.
• More than 70 amicus briefs from lawmakers, states, tribes, industry groups, and legal scholars show the case’s broad political, legal, and economic stakes and frame it as a test of federal preemption versus state authority to remedy local harms.