2026年10月10日 美国东部时间下午4:05 / 福克斯新闻
能源专家警告：若法院支持博尔德市，超9万个政府实体可起诉化石燃料企业
作者：伊莱恩·马伦 福克斯新闻
美国能源研究所首席执行官杰森·艾萨克警告称，最高法院的这场气候诉讼纠纷可能会打开针对能源公司、加油站及其他企业的诉讼大门， potentially raising costs for consumers.（可能推高消费者成本）
【新功能】您现在可以收听福克斯新闻的文章了！
能源政策专家警告称，如果最高法院允许各城市和州针对化石燃料行业追讨数十亿美元损害赔偿，这场围绕气候变化诉讼的最高法院对决可能会让石油公司破产、加油站面临财务危机，美国民众也将在加油站支付更高油价。
“你会看到企业大规模撤离，这将造成燃料短缺，比我们目前面临的情况更严重，推高油价，”美国能源研究所首席执行官杰森·艾萨克告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“这才是这场诉讼的真正目的：管控这些企业，停止使用碳氢化合物。”
最高法院周一就“森科诉博尔德市案”听取了口头辩论，该案争议焦点在于联邦法律是否禁止各州和城市依据州法律起诉石油公司，指控其排放跨越州界的行为造成气候损害。
在口头辩论期间，大法官克拉伦斯·托马斯向博尔德市的律师凯文·拉塞尔施压，询问这一法律理论是否会让除石油生产商之外的企业也面临类似诉讼，包括大型零售商。
【被忽视的“左翼”诉讼浪潮或让美国人付出意外代价】
2026年10月5日，气候活动人士聚集在最高法院外，为“森科诉博尔德市案”的口头辩论举行抗议（伊莱恩·马伦 福克斯新闻摄）
“我们的理论中没有对此作出限制，”拉塞尔承认，不过他补充称，州侵权法可能会施加额外限制。
大法官布雷特·卡瓦诺则单独对大规模诉讼可能带来的财务后果表示担忧，他警告称，足够多的诉讼可能会“破产”被告方，并质疑几乎任何制造商或企业是否都会面临类似索赔。
科罗拉多州博尔德市及县当局2018年起诉石油巨头埃克森美孚和森科能源，指控这些公司明知化石燃料会造成气候变化，却就所谓的化石燃料危险误导公众。该市寻求获得损害赔偿，以支付与气候相关的日益增长的应对成本。全美各地司法辖区目前尚有约30起类似诉讼 pending in jurisdictions across the country, including cases in Portland and Baltimore.（正在审理中，包括波特兰和巴尔的摩的案件）。
博尔德市的诉讼称，埃克森美孚和森科能源数十年来一直知晓化石燃料相关的气候风险，却误导公众。起诉书援引了埃克森美孚1977年的一份内部备忘录，该备忘录在公司最高层管理人员中传阅。备忘录称，“当前科学界绝大多数观点支持”化石燃料会导致二氧化碳排放上升。
曾担任博尔德市本案诉讼记录律师、现已不再参与该案的戴维·布克宾德，在去年的联邦主义者协会论坛上将该诉讼描述为实施“间接碳税”的一种方式。
但博尔德市方面坚称，此案并非试图监管国家气候政策，而是主张科罗拉多州有权依据州法律，追究企业对其境内遭受的所谓损害的责任。
“自建国以来，各州一直有权为发生在其境内的伤害提供侵权救济，即使造成伤害的行为发生在其他地方，”拉塞尔告诉大法官们。
【约翰·罗伯茨首席大法官与最高法院重新开庭，围绕特朗普总统议程的争议仍是主要焦点】（安娜·莫尼耶 盖蒂图片社摄）
【天主教学校、被禁步枪与“气候诉讼滥用”：最高法院将迎来重磅对决】
消费者联盟执行主任O·H·斯金纳辩称，这些诉讼试图通过法院实现气候倡导者无法在国会达成的目标。
“当你真正深入剖析，抛开所有法律论点，推动这些案件的倡导者非常明确，”斯金纳告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“这是一种试图通过后门征收碳税的努力，因为碳税从未在国会获得通过，或者说试图让能源行业破产。”
大法官塞缪尔·阿利托已退出本案审理，但未给出解释。
艾萨克警告称，如果最高法院作出有利于博尔德市的裁决，可能会打开“潘多拉的盒子”，让数千个司法辖区提起类似诉讼。他表示，若出现4:4的平局，也可能产生类似的实际效果，即维持下级法院的裁决，不过平局不会确立全国性先例。
“仅美国就有超过9万个各级政府——政府实体——也可以开始起诉能源公司，”艾萨克告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“这会推高消费者成本，因为辩护这些诉讼的成本将高得惊人。”
【2022年10月7日，最高法院大法官们拍摄集体合影。前排从左至右：索尼娅·索托马约尔大法官、克拉伦斯·托马斯大法官、美国首席大法官约翰·G·罗伯茨 Jr.、塞缪尔·A·阿利托 Jr.大法官和埃琳娜·卡根大法官。后排从左至右：艾米·科尼·巴雷特大法官、尼尔·M·戈萨奇大法官、布雷特·M·卡瓦诺大法官和凯坦吉·布朗·杰克逊大法官】（路透社连线 今日美国网络）
【诉讼将让每个美国家庭损失数千美元。最高法院可以出手相助】
斯金纳辩称，可被起诉的对象可能不仅限于石油生产商，还包括能源供应链中的各类企业，包括加油站、汽车制造商和销售或使用化石燃料的公用事业公司。
“从博尔德市的角度来看，任何助长气候变化的企业，无论大小，都难逃责任，”斯金纳告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“这里的问题在于，在左翼人士看来，气候变化就是一切，一切都与气候变化有关。因此，很难界定谁没有助长气候变化。”
但艾萨克表示，此案与针对烟草或阿片类药物公司的诉讼不同，因为温室气体排放来自全球无数来源，跨越州界和国界，使得难以将气候相关损害的责任归咎于特定主体。
“排放是一个全球性现象，”艾萨克告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
【保守派团体称卡根大法官在即将到来的最高法院气候诉讼中无法保持公正】
埃克森美孚和森科能源辩称，由于温室气体排放在全球范围内扩散，科罗拉多州不能依据州法律追究企业对其境外排放的责任。这些公司认为，此类争议应受联邦法律管辖。
【点击此处下载福克斯新闻应用】
与此同时，犹他州等其他州已禁止此类州侵权诉讼。
“如果能源公司败诉，科罗拉多州胜诉，这实际上将推高全国的汽油价格，”犹他州总检察长德里克·布朗告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“所以这类决策最终应该由国会负责。”
伊莱恩·马伦是福克斯新闻数字频道和福克斯商业频道的撰稿人，报道全国政治。
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6406607861112
Supreme Court climate case could bankrupt oil companies, send gas prices soaring, experts warn
October 10, 2026 4:05pm EDT / Fox News
Energy experts warn that ruling for Boulder could let over 90,000 government entities sue fossil fuel companies
By Elaine Mallon, Fox News
American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac warns the Supreme Court climate fight could open the door to lawsuits against energy companies, gas stations and other businesses, potentially raising costs for consumers.
NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Supreme Court showdown over climate change lawsuits could leave oil companies bankrupt, gas stations facing financial ruin and Americans paying more at the pump if the justices allow cities and states to pursue billions in damages against the fossil fuel industry, energy policy experts warn.
“You would see mass exodus and that would create more scarcity with fuel, more so than we’re seeing already today, higher prices,” Jason Isaac, CEO of American Energy Institute, told Fox News Digital. “And that’s really what this is about. It’s about controlling these companies and stopping the use of hydrocarbons.”
The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in Suncor v. Boulder, a dispute over whether federal law prevents cities and states from suing oil companies under state law for alleged climate damage linked to emissions that cross state borders.
During oral arguments, Justice Clarence Thomas pressed Boulder’s attorney, Kevin Russell, on whether the legal theory could expose businesses beyond oil producers to similar lawsuits, including large retailers.
WAVE OF OVERLOOKED ‘LEFT-WING’ LAWSUITS COULD COME WITH AN UNEXPECTED PRICE TAG FOR AMERICANS
Climate activists protester gather outside of the Supreme Court for oral arguments for Suncor v. Boulder on Oct. 5, 2026(Elaine Mallon Fox News)
“Nothing in our theory prevents that,” Russell acknowledged, although he noted that state tort law could impose additional limitations.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh separately raised concerns about the potential financial consequences of widespread litigation, warning that enough lawsuits could “bankrupt” defendants and questioning whether virtually any manufacturer or business could face similar claims.
The city and county of Boulder, Colo., sued oil giants ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy in 2018, accusing the companies of knowingly contributing to climate change while misleading the public about the alleged dangers of fossil fuels. The municipalities are seeking damages to help cover the mounting costs of climate-related harms. There are roughly 30 similar lawsuits pending in jurisdictions across the country, including cases in Portland and Baltimore.
Boulder’s lawsuit alleged ExxonMobil and Suncor knew for decades about the climate risks associated with fossil fuels but misled the public about those risks. The complaint pointed to a 1977 internal memo from ExxonMobil that circulated among the company’s highest-level managers. The memo reported that “current scientific opinion overwhelmingly favors” that fossil fuels contribute to the rise in CO2 emissions.
David Bookbinder, who previously served as counsel of record for Boulder but is no longer involved in the case, described the lawsuit as a way to implement an “indirect carbon tax” during a Federalist Society forum last year.
But Boulder has maintained that the case is not an attempt to regulate national climate policy, arguing instead that Colorado has the authority to hold companies accountable under state law for alleged harms suffered within its borders.
“Since the founding, states have had the power to provide tort remedies for injuries occurring within their borders even when the conduct causing those injuries occurred elsewhere,” Russell told the justices.
Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court return to the bench as disputes over President Trump’s agenda remain a major focus.(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, BANNED RIFLES AND ‘CLIMATE LAWFARE’: BLOCKBUSTER FIGHTS AWAIT SUPREME COURT
O.H. Skinner, executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, argued that the lawsuits are an attempt to accomplish through the courts what climate advocates have been unable to achieve through Congress.
“When you really boil it down, and you separate it from all the legal arguments, the advocates who push these cases are very clear,” Skinner told Fox News Digital. “That it’s an effort to get a backdoor carbon tax, because carbon taxes have never passed in Congress, or to bankrupt the energy industry.”
Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself from the case without providing an explanation.
Isaac warned that a Supreme Court ruling in Boulder’s favor could open “Pandora’s box,” allowing thousands of jurisdictions to pursue similar lawsuits. He said a 4-4 split could have a similar practical effect by leaving the lower court’s ruling in place, although a tie would not establish nationwide precedent.
“There are over 90,000 levels of government — government entities just in the United States alone — that could also begin lawsuits against energy companies,” Isaac told Fox News Digital. “Driving up cost to consumers because the cost to defend those would be astronomical.”
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2022. Seated from left: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr., Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
LAWSUITS COST EVERY AMERICAN HOUSEHOLD THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. SUPREME COURT CAN HELP
Skinner argued that who could be sued could extend beyond oil producers to businesses across the energy supply chain, including gas stations, automakers and utilities that sell or use fossil fuels.
“From Boulder’s perspective, anybody who’s contributed to climate change would reliable, any sort of company, big or small, and the problem here is that to the left, climate change is everything and everything is climate change,” Skinner told Fox News Digital. “So it’s very hard to find a line for who isn’t contributing to climate change.”
But Isaac said the case is different from lawsuits against tobacco or opioid companies because greenhouse gas emissions come from countless sources around the world and cross state and national borders, making it difficult to isolate responsibility for climate-related damage.
“Emissions are a global phenomenon,” Isaac told Fox News Digital.
CONSERVATIVE GROUPS SAY JUSTICE KAGAN CANNOT BE IMPARTIAL IN UPCOMING SUPREME COURT CLIMATE LITIGATION
ExxonMobil and Suncor argue that because greenhouse gas emissions travel globally, Colorado cannot use state law to hold companies liable for emissions originating outside its borders. The companies contend that such disputes should instead be governed by federal law.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Meanwhile, other states such as Utah have barred these types of state tort lawsuits from being pursued.
“If the energy companies were to lose and Colorado were to win, this would in effect drive up the prices of gas all across the country,” Utah Attorney General Derek Brown told Fox News Digital. “And so those kind of decisions ultimately, it’s the province of Congress.”
Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6406607861112
发表回复