# Alito Reverses Course, Recuses From Major Oil Climate Case

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/alito-reverses-course-recuses-from-major-oil-climate-case
- Published: 2026-09-29T13:06:44.618897+00:00
- Topics: supreme-court, climate-change, judicial-ethics, energy-industry, samuel-alito

## What the left says
- The recusal validates months of advocacy from environmental and judicial watchdog groups who argued Alito's oil and gas holdings created a conflict of interest under the court's own ethics code.
- Alito's initial refusal to step aside, followed by a reversal just a week before arguments, reinforces concerns about the Supreme Court's inconsistent self-policing on ethics and its resistance to outside scrutiny.
- A potential 4-4 split now looms over a case with billions of dollars and nationwide implications for holding fossil fuel companies accountable for deceiving the public about climate change.
- The timing underscores why binding, enforceable ethics rules for the court are necessary rather than relying on individual justices to judge their own conflicts.

## What the right says
- Alito does not own stock in either Suncor Energy or ExxonMobil, the actual parties to the case, and his recusal came without any stated explanation or admission of wrongdoing.
- The pressure campaign against Alito came primarily from left-leaning environmental and judicial watchdog groups seeking to tilt the case's outcome by removing a conservative justice.
- Alito had previously and consistently defended his participation as appropriate, and his recusal should not be read as confirmation that activists' ethics complaints were valid.
- The case carries major First Amendment implications, since energy companies argue that imposing liability based partly on their public statements and advocacy threatens free speech rights.

## Common ground
- Alito recused himself on September 28, one week before oral arguments were scheduled to begin October 5.
- The clerk's letter gave no explanation for the decision, stating only that Alito would not continue to participate.
- Alito does not own stock in Suncor Energy or ExxonMobil but holds investments in other oil and gas companies including ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66.
- The case addresses whether Colorado local governments can hold oil companies liable under state tort law for climate-related damages, with outcomes that could affect similar lawsuits nationwide.

## Sources
- [PJ Media](https://pjmedia.com/bryan-s-jung/2026/09/28/supreme-court-justice-samuel-alito-recuses-himself-from-a-major-climate-case-n4957739) (Unknown)
- [Daily Caller](https://dailycaller.com/2026/09/28/alito-recuses-himself-suncor-energy-boulder) (Right)
- [Just The News](https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/alito-recuses-self-climate-suit?utm_source=justthenews.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=external-news-aggregators) (Right)
- [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/reversal-justice-samuel-alito-steps-major-climate-case-rcna600318) (Lean Left)
- [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/us/politics/alito-suncor-supreme-court-recuse.html) (Lean Left)
- [The Guardian US](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/28/samuel-alito-supreme-court-oil-climate-case) (Left)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6115797-alito-recuses-climate-change-lawsuits-suncor-v-boulder/) (Center)
- [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/28/justice-alito-recuses-himself-major-climate-lawsuit-oil-companies/) (Unknown)
- [HuffPost](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alito-steps-aside-in-a-major-climate-case-after-previous-resistance_n_6abad3d2e4b075cb0a40a01e) (Left)

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