U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito announced Monday that he will sit out a major climate change case, stepping back just one week before the justices are scheduled to hear arguments in the dispute.

The Supreme Court's clerk released a one-sentence statement confirming the recusal. The statement does not give a reason for Alito's decision.

The case reaches the bench on Oct. 5, the first day of the court's new term. At stake is a damages action brought by Colorado localities against oil companies over climate change.

Why did Alito step aside?

Although the clerk's statement offers no explanation, Alito's financial and personal circumstances had drawn scrutiny in connection with the litigation. The justice owns stock in two oil companies. He also flew on the private jet of an investor in a company involved in the case.

Environmental advocacy groups had applied growing public pressure on Alito to recuse himself, according to coverage by the New York Times and Law360.

What does the recusal change?

With Alito absent, the remaining justices will decide whether the Colorado localities can proceed with their claims for climate-related damages against oil companies. A recusal reduces the number of participating justices, raising the possibility of an evenly divided court if the remaining eight split — an outcome that would leave the lower court's ruling intact without setting a nationwide precedent.

The clerk's announcement was terse by design. It stated only that Alito is stepping back from the case, leaving practitioners to connect the recusal with the justice's disclosed stock holdings in two oil companies and his travel on the private jet of an investor in a company involved in the dispute.

Timeline

• Monday — Alito announces his recusal through a one-sentence statement from the clerk of the Supreme Court.
• Oct. 5 — The court hears arguments in the climate case, the first day of its new term.

What is the case about?

Colorado localities are seeking damages from oil companies over climate change. The dispute tests whether such claims can move forward in court, and the justices' eventual decision will shape how similar lawsuits by local governments across the country proceed.

The Oct. 5 argument date gives the recusal particular weight. Alito's withdrawal arrived at the last minute, leaving the parties and observers only a week to assess how an eight-justice bench might handle a dispute that had already attracted intense public attention.

For practitioners, the practical consequence is straightforward: any briefs, argument strategies, and outcome predictions built around a full nine-member court now require adjustment. The absence of a stated reason for the recusal also leaves open how the justice will handle future cases involving energy-sector holdings or connected parties.

The court's new term opens with the climate dispute in the spotlight — now without Justice Alito on the bench.