After rejecting calls to recuse himself in a climate case, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito announced Monday that he would recuse himself from Suncor v. Boulder because of his investments in energy companies, according to a letter from Supreme Court clerk Scott Harris.
While Alito holds no stock in the two companies involved in the case, Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy, he does hold stock in ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, according to his 2025 financial disclosure. Both of those companies are defendants in other climate-based suits.
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Alito’s decision to recuse himself leaves an eight-justice court to rule on this case. This ruling could set significant precedent for the nearly three dozen climate accountability lawsuits moving through the system, filed by states, counties and cities.
Case impact
The case, brought forward by the city of Boulder and its surrounding county, will begin oral arguments on Oct. 5. The ruling will determine whether federal law bars local governments from suing oil companies for climate change injuries and global greenhouse-gas emissions under state laws.
In this context, “injuries” are considered climate-change-related impacts, such as flooding, drought and wildfires — events that cost state and municipal governments money. They argue that oil companies should bear this cost.
With Alito’s recusal, Suncor loses a reliable conservative justice but doesn’t change the math much. Suncor still needs five justices to win the case as before, but now needs all five conservative justices to vote for it.
If the court deadlocks, the lower court’s ruling that sided with the city will remain in effect. But it wouldn’t set a national precedent for the overall legal issues, meaning other similar climate-related suits would need to be fought case by case.
Stocks of SCOTUS
Alito isn’t the only Supreme Court justice to own stocks — Chief Justice John Roberts also does, according to The New York Times. According to a February report by Fix the Court, Roberts owned stocks in two companies, while Alito owned shares in more than two dozen. In 2016, when facing similar calls for recusal regarding a Microsoft case, Roberts opted to dump his stock in the company, valued at about $500,000 at the time.
