WASHINGTON — Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will no longer participate in a major case on climate change after facing calls that he recuse himself because of his holdings in oil companies.
The new development was revealed in a letter sent to lawyers involved in the case, without any reason.
“Judge Alito has decided that he will not continue to participate in this case,” the letter said.
Alito had, through a court spokeswoman, previously told NBC News that there was no need for him to withdraw from the case, which will be argued next week and could have broad national implications when the court issues a ruling.
Left-wing groups have repeatedly called for Alito’s recusal from the case, in which Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy seek to dismiss a Colorado lawsuit seeking damages from oil companies for the impacts of climate change.
Although Alito owns no shares in either company, he does own shares in oil companies ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, as well as five other companies involved in the energy sector, his financial disclosure report shows.
Activists calling for his recusal said companies in which he owns shares could benefit if the Supreme Court rejects the Colorado case, brought by the city and county of Boulder, because it could directly affect similar cases across the country in which they are among the defendants.
The court has a 6-3 conservative majority. Alito’s departure raises the possibility of a 4-4 split, which would leave key legal questions unresolved.
The oil and gas industry hopes the court will issue a sweeping ruling that would block cases like Colorado’s from moving forward in state courts, saving them from paying billions of dollars in damages.
Earlier in the litigation, in 2023, Alito recused himself when the court rejected an appeal from the companies in the Colorado case.
The same day, the court rejected appeals in similar cases involving other companies, including ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66. Alito also did not participate in those cases.
In May, a court spokesperson said Alito had “inadvertently recused himself” from the earlier Colorado case.
“Judge Alito has no financial interest in any of the parties” involved in the case, the court spokeswoman said in a statement provided to NBC News at the time. Alito was informed by the court’s legal counsel that “his recusal is not necessary,” she added.
This was before the latest calls for Alito to resign because of the indirect benefit he could gain from a decision favoring Exxon and Suncor.
Earlier this month, an advocacy group called Consumer Watchdog highlighted disclosures made by ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 to shareholders in which they warned of the risks the companies face following climate lawsuits making allegations similar to the Colorado case.
“Justice Alito’s recusal … is the right decision, and she should have made it from the start,” Alexandra Nagy, the group’s organizing director, said in a statement.
The Supreme Court spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Some conservatives also pushed liberal Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from the case due to controversy over a chapter on climate change included, then removed, from a reference manual for judges. Kagan wrote a brief foreword to the textbook and recently told lawmakers that she had never read the chapter in question.
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