As Boulder goes, so goes the nation.
asserted
nation → go → ?
At least, that is the hope of county officials in Colorado bent on imposing their preferred energy policies on the other 49 states.
asserted
that → bend → states
From Maine to Hawaii, progressive cities, counties, and states have substituted tort litigation for the climate mandates they could not win in Congress.
uncertain
they → substitute → Congress
Soon, in Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, the Supreme Court will have the chance to reaffirm what the framers settled long ago: States generally may not govern outside their borders, and questions of national consequence belong to Congress.
uncertain
questions → have → Congress
Filed in Colorado state court in 2018, Boulder County’s lawsuit claims that America’s energy producers, through their contribution to global carbon emissions, have allegedly caused local climate-related harms for which the county now seeks untold damages.
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county → file → damages
A small cohort of climate activist groups and plaintiffs’ firms drives Boulder’s suit and the tidal wave of copycat litigation behind it.
asserted
cohort → drive → it
Together, they threaten to bankrupt the energy industry and drive up prices for ordinary Americans.
asserted
they → threaten → Americans
One of Boulder’s own lawyers conceded that this is the point, explaining that “this is a rather convoluted way to achieve the goals of a carbon tax.”
Under our federalist system, neither Boulder County nor Colorado may impose its policy preferences on other states.
uncertain
County → concede → states
Boulder concedes that its complaint reaches interstate and international emissions, but it insists that the remedies it seeks are monetary, not policy changes.
asserted
it → concede → emissions
Multnomah County, Oregon, makes the same claim in its $51.5 billion suit against the industry, as do the more than three dozen other jurisdictions with nearly identical climate suits in state courts around the country.
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jurisdictions → make → country
But the distinction collapses in light of what the plaintiffs have set out to achieve.
asserted
plaintiffs → collapse → what
If the Supreme Court lets this climate lawfare proceed, every progressive municipality in the nation will file copycat suits until the plaintiffs’ lawyers bleed dry every industry that lawfully emits carbon — leaving consumers without affordable energy.
asserted
that → let → energy
Any storm, flood, drought, or other weather event allegedly traceable to climate change will result in a lawsuit.
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storm → result → lawsuit
The plaintiffs hope litigation will price fossil fuels out of reach, leaving the public no choice but expensive and unproven “green” alternatives.
asserted
litigation → hope → choice
That is the point — to ensure that every company and consumer in America adopts their long-demanded energy transition, or else.
asserted
company → ensure → transition
As the court explained in a 1959 case, the “obligation to pay compensation can be, indeed is designed to be, a potent method of governing conduct and controlling policy.”
asserted
obligation → explain → policy
A judgment ruinous enough to bankrupt an industry forces that industry to change how it operates, as much in Texas or Louisiana as in Colorado.
asserted
it → bankrupt → Colorado
The framers foresaw this conflict.
asserted
framers → foresee → conflict
They understood that, left unchecked, one state could wield its powers to force its laws and policies on its neighbors.
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state → understand → neighbors
James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 39 that each “state … is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act.”
asserted
state → write → act
That is, states generally may not legislate beyond their own borders.
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states → legislate → borders
The Supreme Court reaffirmed this foundational principle of equal sovereignty among states in Shelby County v. Holder.
asserted
Court → reaffirm → Holder
And in Federalist No. 80, Alexander Hamilton emphasized that “whatever practices may have a tendency to disturb the harmony between the States, are proper objects of federal superintendence and control.”
uncertain
have → emphasize → superintendence
If global carbon emissions are contributing to a changing climate, it is up to Congress, not a local courtroom, to determine the appropriate response.
asserted
it → contribute → response
Boulder County’s abuse of state tort law to regulate the world’s emissions is unconstitutional.
asserted
abuse → regulate → emissions
By handing Congress’s authority to state court judges, Boulder’s suit strips voters of self-government and states of their equal sovereignty.
asserted
suit → hand → sovereignty
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear a case that Boulder insists is merely about Boulder.
asserted
Boulder → hear → Boulder
In reality, it is about who governs.
asserted
who → govern → reality
If a single Colorado county can reach beyond its borders to dictate energy production in states such as Texas, voters there will have no recourse.
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voters → reach → recourse
The framers entrusted Congress to address questions of national consequence for precisely this reason.
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framers → entrust → reason
The Supreme Court should reaffirm that constitutional structure and end Boulder’s attempt to usurp federal authority over our nation’s energy policy.
asserted
Court → reaffirm → policy
The Aporia
