Alito Recuses Himself from Supreme Court Climate Case
Justice Samuel Alito has removed himself from a key climate change liability case just days before oral arguments were scheduled, with no reason publicly given.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from a significant case concerning climate change liability, Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, less than a week before oral arguments were slated to begin. Scott Harris, the clerk of the Supreme Court, informed the parties' lawyers of Alito's decision in a letter on Monday, without providing an explanation.
The case, which was scheduled to open the 2026-27 term, centers on whether Boulder, Colorado, can pursue legal action against oil and gas companies using state-law tort claims for their alleged contribution to climate change. The litigation has drawn criticism from Republicans, who contend that Colorado officials are leveraging the judicial system to advance their environmental agenda without democratic processes.
"What they're doing is they're going around to these cities and these states, and using tort litigation, mass tort litigation, public nuisance lawsuits in state courts, and in a coordinated way to effectuate the same kind of a result, but just without having to go through their democratically elected officials," said Steve Cox, former Alaska attorney general and current counsel to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, during a Tuesday conference call.
O.H. Skinner, former Arizona solicitor general and executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, stated on the same call that the case is not about climate change or science, but rather "a fight about whether we're going to allow this maneuver to be what reshapes American society." Skinner added that it is crucial to consider whether courts should be the primary policymakers.
Skinner acknowledged that Alito's recusal was likely not made lightly. However, he noted that "it's never good for the court" when a justice is absent from a ruling. "At the end of the day, it does not help the court to not have their full complement, but it is also not something that we think will be dispositive of the case, and it's not something that we think is noteworthy, other than that he made that decision based on his own considerations and didn't do it lightly, and he is making the right choice in his mind," Skinner said.
This is not the first instance of Alito recusing himself from a high-stakes case. In January, he removed himself from Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, a Louisiana coastal erosion dispute, due to owning stock in ConocoPhillips, the parent company of a party involved in related litigation.
Meanwhile, Justice Elena Kagan has faced calls for her recusal from the Suncor v. Boulder case. These calls stem from her foreword to the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which included a chapter on climate science that was later criticized by Congress and Republican attorneys general as biased. This chapter was subsequently removed. Legal groups, led by Carrie Severino of JCN, have urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate.
"Justice Kagan’s endorsement of the partisan and now-removed climate science chapter of the judges’ reference manual continues to raise questions about her ability to impartially decide the case. I hope she is taking her own ethical obligation seriously," the groups stated in a letter.
