/>iIn December 2024, the State of New York enacted the “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which would impose retroactive fines on fossil fuel producers for greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. (New York was actually the second state to enact such a law; Vermont had implemented a similar law earlier in the year, and a number of other liberal states are contemplating such laws.) This law has now been challenged in court by a coalition of attorneys-general from conservative states, led by Texas (the other states are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming), who argue that this law is unconstitutional because, among other things, it infringes upon issues that are solely within the purview of federal law (e.g., the Clean Air Act), and not subject to regulation by individual states.
Irrespective of the legal merits of either New York's law or the attorneys-generals' challenge, this development is nonetheless significant as demonstrating--yet again--the increasing gulf between blue states and red states with respect to state policy concerning climate change and related issues. There are now a number of separate legal fronts where opposing coalitions of states are ranged against one another, each seeking to implement its preferred policy. And this increasing divergence among the states has rendered the regulatory landscape even more complex for companies that operate nationally, with a geographic footprint on both sides of the divide. In the absence of a national consensus developing over climate change policy, it seems unlikely that even coherent and powerful federal action could completely overcome this divide--to the detriment of any company or individual seeking to navigate through these turbulent waters.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and a coalition of 21 attorneys general have filed a federal lawsuit challenging New York's new law that would force fossil-fuel companies to pay billions for emitting greenhouse gas. And some experts predict similar litigation against other states. According to the lawsuit, the New York law titled the Climate Change Superfund Act would retroactively fine coal, natural gas and oil producers $75 billion for emissions. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law on Dec. 26, 2024, with funds due in 2026.
