Colorado Ranchers Back Boulder Climate Case Against Big Oil

Colorado rancher Deirdre Macnab watched 60 of her neighbor's cows burn alive in one of the state's worst wildfires. When she learned her own county was defending the oil companies being sued over climate costs, she decided enough was enough.

Macnab rallied fellow ranchers across Colorado to support Boulder's landmark lawsuit against Exxon Mobil and Suncor. The city and county of Boulder sued in 2018, seeking damages for the mounting costs of adapting to heat waves, wildfires, and floods caused by climate change.

The ranchers told the Supreme Court they can't keep absorbing increasing disaster costs while still staying in business. This year's record heat and drought forced many to spend thousands hauling water and feed to their animals, pushing some toward bankruptcy.

The oil companies argue federal law shields them from liability and protects them from defending their actions in state courts. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in a case that could determine who pays for climate adaptation costs—and whether communities can hold companies accountable for hiding what they knew about fossil fuels.

Oil majors have billions of dollars on the line across dozens of similar lawsuits nationwide. They saw their chance to shut down these cases with a conservative Supreme Court and Trump administration backing them, according to UCLA law professor Alejandro Camacho.

But the landscape shifted when Justice Samuel Alito recused himself this week due to financial holdings in oil companies. His withdrawal makes it harder for oil companies to secure the five votes they need.

Boulder has won at every stage so far. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in May that the case should proceed in state courts, rejecting attempts to move it to federal court.

The Ripple Effect

The coalition backing Boulder's right to sue is breaking traditional political lines in surprising ways. Conservative legal scholars, including environmental law professor Jonathan Adler and two former EPA chiefs under Republican presidents, argue nothing in federal law prevents the lawsuit from moving forward.

Their reasoning centers on a centuries-old principle: if someone harms you, you should be able to make your case in court. Oil companies are essentially trying to avoid that fundamental right, legal experts say.

Even a watchdog organization found that 25 of the 38 briefs supporting the oil companies came from groups with financial ties to fossil fuels. The contrast with ranchers, conservative thinkers, and local governments standing together for accountability couldn't be starker.

The Supreme Court isn't deciding whether oil companies should pay climate damages—just whether Boulder gets its day in court. But that decision will shape whether communities across America can seek justice for climate costs they're already paying.