Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said on Monday that he will not take part in a major climate-change lawsuit scheduled to be heard next week by the Supreme Court. The one-sentence announcement from the clerk of the Supreme Court provided no reason for the justice’s recusal. Yet Alito has faced pressure from environmental and court watchdog groups to step aside because he owns stock in two oil companies, and he flew on the private jet of an investor in a company involved in the dispute.

The case could determine whether oil companies face billions of dollars in potential liability for damages from climate change. It is the first matter scheduled to be argued before the court when the justices return to the bench on Monday following their annual summer break. Justice Alito did not respond to a request for comment.

Justice Alito has not reported financial ties to Suncor Energy, the oil company at the heart of the dispute, nor to any other company directly involved in the case. But he has disclosed in his annual financial reports that he owns stock in Conoco Phillips and Phillips 66, both oil companies. Critics have also pointed to his relationship with Paul Singer, founder of Elliott Investment Management, a hedge fund that is an investor in Suncor.

Lisa Graves, co-founder of Court Accountability, said she was glad that Justice Alito would not take part in the case because she believed he had “an appearance of conflict that continues.” This is the second time this year that Justice Alito has announced a last-minute recusal from a case involving fossil-fuel companies.