Atlanta, Georgia – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a climate-related lawsuit from moving forward, warning that the case could give one local government the power to shape energy policy far beyond its borders.
The case, Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, centers on legal action brought by Boulder County and the City of Boulder, Colorado, against major oil and gas producers. In an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief, Carr argues that the lawsuit should be rejected because it seeks to hold the broader energy industry liable for “global climate change” under state law.
Carr’s position is that such a move would not stay confined to Colorado. Instead, he says, it could allow one city or county to pressure energy companies in a way that affects national policy, including states that rely heavily on traditional energy production.
“One city does not have the right to dictate energy policy for the entire country and attempting to do so is blatantly illegal,” said Carr.
“The Left’s obsession with climate warfare will only lead to higher costs and lost jobs. That’s why we’re pushing back and fighting for safe, reliable and affordable energy for all Americans.”
The brief frames the Boulder lawsuit as part of a larger legal and political fight over who gets to decide energy policy in the United States. Carr and the other attorneys general involved say national energy questions should not be settled through state-law claims filed by individual local governments.
For Carr, the filing also fits into a broader effort to defend Georgia’s energy interests and limit costs for consumers. His office said the Supreme Court brief follows other actions he has taken, including lawsuits against Vermont and New York over their superfund laws. Carr has also joined multistate coalitions challenging what he describes as regulatory overreach by federal agencies and other states.
The brief was led by West Virginia and Alabama. Georgia joined alongside attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Together, the states are urging the Supreme Court to step in and prevent the Boulder case from becoming a pathway for local governments to impose sweeping consequences on the national energy industry through state courts.
