22 States Sue to Block New York Law Charging Oil Companies $75 Billion to Pay for Climate Adaptation
A coalition of 22 U.S. State Attorneys General, led by West Virginia AG JB McCuskey, announced the launch of a lawsuit filed in a Federal court challenging New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, which would require fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the investments in infrastructure needed to adapt to climate change in New York State, proportionate to their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
Introduced late last year by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, the Superfund Act is anticipated to require fossil fuel companies to pay approximately $75 billion through 2050, or about $3 billion per year.
In the court filing, the states claim that the liability caused by the new law “could be devastating to traditional energy producers,” and “could force coal, oil, and natural gas producers to shutter altogether.”
The lawsuit challenges the New York legislation on several fronts, claiming that “the Act violates the U.S. Constitution, the New York Constitution, and federal law for several reasons.”
Among the key claims, the suit challenges the law for allegedly violating the U.S. Constitution by pre-empting federal legislation, noting that the federal Clean Air Act empowers the EPA to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel facilities, and arguing that states should not be able to fine companies for GHG emissions that occur beyond their borders.
Additional challenges brought against the legislation in the lawsuit include arguments that states may not impose penalties on companies to change conduct that is legal in other states, that it will drive up energy costs in other states and harm U.S. foreign policy, that it “imposes a harsh, retroactive penalty against a select few energy producers who lawfully extracted and refined fossil fuels,” and that it imposes an excessive fine, among others.
In a statement announcing the launch of the lawsuit, McCuskey said:
“This law is unconstitutional, and I am proud to lead this coalition of attorneys general and brave private energy companies and industry groups in our fight to protect against this overreach. If we allow New York to get away with this, it will only be a matter of time before other states follow suit – wrecking our nation’s power grid.”
States joining the suit included Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.