Colorado communities on Tuesday launched a legal attack on the oil industry, demanding that Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil help pay for impacts of climate change that scientists link to producing and consuming fossil fuels.
A lawsuit filed in state court by San Miguel County, Boulder and Boulder County accuses Suncor, the Canadian company that runs a massive refinery just north of Denver, and Exxon of knowingly accelerating and worsening climate impacts by producing oil and gas that, when burned, emit billions of tons of carbon dioxide, which traps heat.
Industry groups swiftly counterattacked.
These are the first noncoastal U.S. communities to join a wave of municipalities taking legal action against fossil fuels producers — seeking compensation for dealing with climate change.