West Virginia and Alabama Lead States Defending Energy Workers as Supreme Court Hears Climate Lawsuit
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, an important case that will affect energy production nationwide. That is why Attorney General JB McCuskey, alongside Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, led a 26-state coalition in filing an amicus brief in the case to stand up for West Virginia’s energy workers and states’ rights.
The amicus, or “friend of the court” brief, filed in this case argues that allowing a single Colorado locality to hold the entire energy industry liable for global climate change under state law would unconstitutionally allow one jurisdiction to dictate national energy policy — and deal a devastating blow to states like West Virginia that depend on traditional energy production.
“Today’s argument confirmed what we’ve said all along: federal law closes the book on these eco-radical lawsuits. As Justice Kavanaugh suggested, we think it’s ‘crystal clear’ that interstate issues like these must be governed by federal law, not by varying state law in dozens of state courts. State, county or municipal governments cannot weaponize their radical environmental laws to enrich their treasuries to the detriment of the nation. We have fought this kind of climate warfare before, and we will keep fighting to protect West Virginia’s energy workers. We are confident the Court will agree,” Attorney General McCuskey said.
In August, Attorney General McCuskey led a lawsuit and won against New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, which aimed to impose $75 billion in retroactive fines for lawful energy production outside New York State. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York held that the Climate Change Superfund Act was “simply beyond the limits of state law” and conflicted with federal interests in applying uniform air pollution regulations. The Court also ruled that the foreign affairs doctrine preempted the Superfund law’s attempt to regulate international emissions.
Attorney General McCuskey has made protecting West Virginia's energy industry against attacks from other States a priority, from filing this amicus brief in Suncor to suing Vermont and New York over their state Superfund laws.
Today is the first day of the Supreme Court’s new term. A decision in the Suncor case is expected by May 2027.
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