Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will not participate in a major climate case after facing calls to recuse himself for holding oil company stocks.
The move to distance himself from the case is a reversal, NBC News reported on Monday, after the justice had previously pushed back.
Alito’s move was disclosed in a one-sentence letter from the clerk of the court to attorneys involved on Monday.
“I am writing to inform the parties that Justice Alito has determined that he will not continue to participate in this case,” it read.
The letter did not give a reason why Alito was now recusing himself from the case. Oral arguments are set for next week.
Alito, through a court spokesperson, previously told NBC News there was no need for the justice to step aside, claiming he “does not have a financial interest in any party.”
Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy are trying to have a Colorado lawsuit seeking damages for oil companies’ impact on climate change thrown out.
Left-leaning groups have repeatedly called for Alito to recuse himself from what has been called one of the biggest cases the court will hear this term, with major implications for the ongoing fight over climate change.
According to the justice’s financial disclosures, he holds stocks in multiple energy companies, including the oil companies ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66.
An analysis earlier this year by the group Court Accountability also found he has received as much as $2.9 million from his interests in oil and gas companies between 2005 and 2024.
Members of the oil and gas industry hope the country’s highest court will issue a ruling to prevent future cases like the one brought in Colorado from moving forward.
Blocking state efforts to sue fossil fuel companies could save the industry from paying potentially billions of dollars in damages.
The Supreme Court currently has a six-to-three conservative majority, but with Alito recusing himself from the case, the ruling is more likely to be split, tipping a potential decision away from the oil and gas companies’ favor.
The Revolving Doors Project was one of the groups calling for Alito’s recusal.
“Bad news for Exxon, and a win for the power of public pressure calling out the blatant corruption of the Roberts Court: Justice Alito is stepping down from further participating in Suncor v. Boulder, a week before oral arguments,” the group said in a post.
