Unexpectedly, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from a major climate change case scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court next week. The case involves oil companies ExxonMobil ( Exxon Mobil ) and Semco Energy ( Suncor Energy ).

Environmental organizations previously called on Alito not to participate in this case on the grounds that he held shares in oil and gas companies. According to Alito's latest financial disclosure for 2025, he no longer holds shares in ExxonMobil or Sonoco Energy.

After the Supreme Court agreed to accept the case earlier this year, Alito had previously refused to recuse himself. However, in 2023, he did not participate in the court's decision not to hear the case regarding jurisdiction issues raised by the company in the same case.

The name of this case is Suncor Energy ( USA ) Inc . v. County Commissioners of Boulder CountyThe core question is: Does federal law preclude claims based on state law, which are alleged to seek compensation for damages caused by climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions?

Oral arguments for this case are scheduled to take place on October 5th.

Supreme Court clerk Scott Harris wrote in a letter on Monday to inform the attorneys of all parties involved in the case: "I am writing to notify all parties that Justice Alito has decided not to continue participating in this case."

Alito suddenly recused himself, which means the possibility of a 4-4 tie in the ruling by the Supreme Court in this case has increased. If there is a tie in the Supreme Court, the previous rulings of the lower courts that were appealed against will remain unchanged.

This case involves a lawsuit filed by the city of Boulder in Colorado and its surrounding counties, seeking compensation for the alleged damages caused by global climate change. The court of first instance dismissed the motion to withdraw the lawsuit filed by Suncor and ExxonMobil, and the Colorado Supreme Court upheld this ruling, allowing the case to proceed to trial.

If the Supreme Court issues an unfavorable ruling against the oil companies, the case will proceed to the trial stage.

In May of this year, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court stated to NBC news that Alito would not recuse himself from this case.

The spokesperson said at the time, "Justice Alito holds no financial interests in either party regarding this case."

She also added that, according to reports from NBC, the Supreme Court's legal counsel had advised Alito that 'there was no need to recuse himself'.