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Ongoing story / Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court case over local climate lawsuits against oil companies

Overview · reviewed October 21, 2026

The Supreme Court is weighing whether states and local governments can sue oil and gas companies for the costs of climate change, in a case brought by Boulder, Colorado, against Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy.[1] Justice Samuel Alito recused himself before the October 5 arguments after calls to step aside over his stock holdings in oil companies.[2]

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Justice Samuel Alito recused himself before the October 5 arguments after calls to step aside over his stock holdings in oil companies.[2]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-03-10 (UTC): 4%, 8 of 198 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): 9%, 16 of 186 tracked outlets (6 left, 6 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): 1%, 5 of 537 tracked outlets (0 left, 2 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): under 1%, 1 of 545 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 12%, 55 of 476 tracked outlets (16 left, 23 center, 16 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 13%, 61 of 479 tracked outlets (18 left, 27 center, 16 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 473 tracked outlets (0 left, 7 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 1 more outlet off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (7 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Oct 26, 20260707 of 4731%
Oct 5, 202618271661 of 47913%
Sep 28, 202616231655 of 47612%
Aug 10, 20261001 of 545under 1%
Aug 3, 20260235 of 5371%
Feb 23, 202666416 of 1869%
Mar 10, 20252248 of 1984%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Oct 27, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Skyhi News

    Why ranchers, the ski industry and Western Slope governments are paying close attention to Boulder’s climate lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court

Background

In March 2025, the court rejected an unusual effort by Republican-led states to halt the climate lawsuits that Democratic-led states had brought in their own courts against fossil fuel companies.[3] In February 2026 it agreed to hear the oil and gas companies' bid to block such suits, in a case that could decide the future of lawsuits over energy companies' contributions to climate change.[4][5] The city and county of Boulder, Colorado, sued Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy, arguing that they face rising costs from the effects of climate change.[1]

Justice Samuel Alito recused himself in late September after calls to step aside over his stock holdings in oil companies.[2] At the arguments on October 5, the opening day of the court's term, the justices wrestled with whether the suits followed the path of corporate accountability cases or were a backdoor attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.[6][1]

Supporting stories (6)
  1. Supreme Court weighs local governments' climate change lawsuits against oil and gas companies
  2. Alito’s Recusal From a Key Climate Case May Be Too Little, Too Late
  3. Supreme Court rejects Republican-led effort to halt climate change lawsuits in Democratic-led states
  4. Supreme Court agrees to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuits
  5. U.S. Supreme Court to decide state climate change case
  6. US Supreme Court considers bid to shut the door on climate suits

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 11 recorded updates

October 2026

  1. Why ranchers, the ski industry and Western Slope governments are paying close attention to Boulder’s climate lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme CourtHeadline from Aspen Times · 7 outlets
  2. Anti-Gunners Reveal Motive Behind Their Under-The-Radar Involvement In Supreme Court Climate CaseHeadline from The Daily Caller · 2 outlets
  3. US Supreme Court considers bid to shut the door on climate suitsHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 1 outlet
  4. Legal Experts React To Supreme Court Showdown Over Climate LawsuitsHeadline from The Daily Caller · 2 outlets
  5. Clarence Thomas is in the hot seat for Supreme Court’s biggest climate case in yearsHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 8 outlets
  6. Climate Activists Want The Supreme Court To Impose A Green New Deal That Voters RejectedHeadline from Conservative Review · 2 outlets

September 2026

  1. Supreme Court weighs local governments' climate change lawsuits against oil and gas companiesHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 69 outlets
  2. Alito’s Recusal From a Key Climate Case May Be Too Little, Too LateHeadline from Mother Jones · 40 outlets

August 2026

  1. U.S. Supreme Court to decide state climate change caseHeadline from Just the News · 6 outlets

February 2026

  1. Supreme Court agrees to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuitsHeadline from KOB 4 · 17 outlets

March 2025

  1. Supreme Court rejects Republican-led effort to halt climate change lawsuits in Democratic-led statesHeadline from MyNorthwest · 8 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →