A wildfire swept over the ridge framing Kathleen Kelley’s rolling 2,000-acre ranch in the Rockies.
At Meeker, Colorado, Kelley’s family has long had close ties to the oil industry. In August 2025, the Lee Fire turned to dust a stream on her property that had watered her 400 cattle.
Boulder, Colorado, has filed a lawsuit against fossil-fuel companies, seeking to hold them financially responsible for climate change damages.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments over whether state-law claims can make fossil-fuel companies pay for alleged climate damages. The case is titled Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County.
The court is considering an effort by the city and county of Boulder to hold fossil-fuel producers accountable for the effects of global climate change. At its centre is a basic question: can cities and counties use state law to sue oil companies over climate change, potentially reshaping corporate liability for emissions?
Boulder’s claim is one of dozens brought by states and local governments against energy companies in state courts. The suits seek money for past and future harm alleged to have resulted from the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which has led to global warming.
Boulder hopes its case will become an environmental counterpart to litigation that produced billions in damages and settlements against Big Tobacco and opioid makers.
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