WASHINGTON 

The US Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an effort from fossil fuel companies to dismiss a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in damages resulting from the impact of their products on climate change.

The suit was brought by the city of Boulder, Colorado against Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil Corporation in 2018. It alleges that the companies bear responsibilities for the climate change harms, including increasingly dire heat waves, wildfires, droughts, and floods, created by the production and sale of their products.

"These impacts have already harmed Plaintiffs’ property and impacted the health, safety and welfare of their residents. The damages will only multiply as climate change worsens," the lawsuit alleges. "As the impacts of climate change grow more severe, they will do more harm to Plaintiffs and cause greater expense."

The case has remained in court for the better part of the past decade. The companies are seeking to appeal a May 2025 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that allowed the suit to move forward in state court. They argue that the matter of pollution can only be addressed at the federal level because it crosses state lines.

The Supreme Court decision is likely to have national consequences as state and local governments, as well as other parties, seek to hold fossil fuel companies to account for climate change-related disasters.

The case comes amid sweeping efforts by the Trump administration to cut off all funding to fight climate change, including vital research, eliminating information on the growing climate crisis and branding it a hoax.

Arguments are likely to be heard when the court next convenes to hear cases in October.