On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear Suncor v. Boulder, a case with huge implications for the legal exposure of fossil fuel companies, and about whether local and state governments can sue them for the costs they incur dealing with the impacts of climate change.

Boulder is a relatively well-off local government but the impacts of the climate crises are acute. Sitting at the edge of the Front Range of the Rockies, the area’s wildfire, heat and drought exposure is extreme. A warm winter and historically bad drought conditions this year drastically cut the snowpack the town and much of the Front Range relies on for dampening fire risk and drinking water availability, and increased the die-off of trees from beetle infestations.

Boulder County was at the center of Colorado’s most destructive wildfire, after another dramatic drought year in 2021. When Boulder first filed the complaint they anticipated at least $90 million of spending on climate adaptation and mitigation over the course of 30 years. That was before the fire.