Justice Samuel Alito will not participate in consideration of a pivotal climate change case before the U.S. Supreme Court, the court announced on Monday.
In a short letter, the court said Alito will not participate in consideration of Suncor v. Boulder County Commissioners, a case that could determine whether states and local governments across the country can use state and local laws to seek billions of dollars in damages against energy companies for alleged contributions to climate change.
In May, a group of watchdog organizations urged lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate Alito’s recusal pattern in cases related to the oil and natural gas industry. The watchdogs cited Alito’s “substantial holdings in oil and gas companies” to demand his recusal.
According to August 2026 financial disclosures, Alito owns individual stock worth between $60,007 and $245,000 in seven oil, gas and mining companies. He also has up to $100,000 invested in a high dividend yield fund, of which Exxon is the third-largest holding.
ExxonMobil is one of the energy companies involved in the consequential climate change litigation before the court. According to the high courts ethics standards, justices are required to recuse themselves from consideration of cases where “impartiality may be questioned.”
Justices on the high court will hear arguments on Oct. 5. Alito’s recusal from the case so close to arguments is unusual, as the court granted the case on Feb. 23. Justices typically recuse themselves from consideration at the same time the court hears the case.
Advocates previously called for Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from the climate change case. Watchdog groups argued Kagan was biased in favor of Boulder County and climate science policies.
Kagan wrote a foreward in the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Fourth Edition of the “Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence,” published in December 2025.
The manual referenceed the “attribution theory,” a disputed model used to posit scientific modeling as attributable to the effects of climate change from greenhouse gas emissions.
“Justice Kagan’s participation in the Suncor case is indefensible given her public endorsement of climate-lawfare plaintiff theories,” the advocates wrote.
Justices on the high court will head into the Oct. 5 oral arguments without one of the nine justices occupying the bench. The case has nationwide implications as local and state governments across the country have proposed or filed similar litigation to restrict the energy companies from contributing to climate change.
Advocates warned the litigation is aimed at severely limiting the ability of energy companies to continue doing business.
“One victory would cripple these companies economically,” former Attorney General Bill Barr said. “One state cannot apply its own law in a way that is binding to other states that have been touched by this phenomenon.”
Alito previously recused himself from consideration of Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, a case where the high court prevented a more than $700 million lawsuit against energy companies from moving forward.
The consequential case will be decided by June 2027 with only eight justices in consideration.
