Washington DC - Dozens of climate lawsuits could live or die by a Supreme Court case set to be heard on Monday, which is seeking damages from fossil fuel companies for their role in climate change.

Known as Suncor v Boulder, the dispute began in 2018 when the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, sued ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy, claiming they "knowingly caused and contributed to the alteration of the climate" while "concealing and/or misrepresenting the dangers" of their products.

Suncor operates a refinery in Colorado, while ExxonMobil has deep ties to the Rocky Mountain State. The plaintiffs say they have suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from wildfires, flooding, and other weather extremes stemming from climate change.

It is one of around 40 similar suits brought by cities, states, tribes, and other local jurisdictions, modeled on successful litigation against tobacco and opioid producers.

The companies contend such suits aim to impose an enormous "carbon tax" that could bankrupt the energy industry – that they are an illegitimate attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and are essentially asking the court to make them all go away.

After failing to move the case to federal court, the companies lost bids to have it dismissed in state court and at Colorado's Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump's administration filed a brief urging the US Supreme Court to take up the case, and the justices agreed.

The court will consider whether federal law – specifically the Clean Air Act – preempts Boulder's claims, whether the Constitution itself bars such suits, and whether it can review the case before a trial has taken place.

If the justices focus on the last question, "that essentially just kicks the can down the road" since the wider questions would likely be raised later, Katrina Kuh, a professor of environmental law at Pace University, told AFP.