Guest essay by Eric Worrall

Colorado local governments are worried that global warming might melt their ski season.

Latest legal fight accusing oil companies of climate change launched in Colorado

Sebastien Malo

APRIL 18, 2018 / 9:00 AM

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Three Colorado communities filed a lawsuit against oil companies on Tuesday, launching the latest legal battle seeking damages for what they claim are the costs of adapting to climate change.

The lawsuit, filed in Colorado by the city of Boulder and the counties of San Miguel and Boulder, accuses Suncor and Exxon Mobil Corp of creating a public nuisance by producing and selling fossil fuels that cause climate change.

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Suncor and Exxon “sold and promoted fossil fuels knowing that climate impacts were substantially certain to occur if unchecked fossil fuel use continued,” the communities said in the complaint.

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Their region of Colorado is vulnerable to a wide range of climate threats, from droughts that imperil farming to warm winters that harm the ski industry, they said.

“Climate change is not just about sea level rise. It affects all of us in the middle of the country as well,” said Elise Jones, a Boulder County commissioner, in a statement.

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