Vermont’s climate superfund heads to court
Vermont’s first‑in‑the‑nation “climate superfund” law — which forces fossil fuel companies to pay for climate damages — is now headed to federal court, a test that could set national precedent on climate accountability. The case will determine whether states can use novel liability tools to recoup climate costs from major emitters and will shape how organizers frame climate‑justice litigation going forward. (oneearthnow.org)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute filed Chamber v. Moore in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont on Dec. 30, 2024, challenging the state officials charged with implementing the statute. (courtlistener.com) A scheduling order in the Chamber case set a bench hearing for March 30, 2026 before Judge Mary Kay Lanthier. (pacermonitor.com) The federal government filed United States v. Vermont on May 1, 2025, naming the State, Governor Phil Scott, ANR Secretary Julie Moore and Climate Action Office Director Jane Lazorchak as defendants and arguing the state law is preempted by federal statutes. (clearinghouse.net) The Justice Department later filed a motion for summary judgment characterizing Vermont’s law as an unlawful intrusion on federal authority and noting a companion complaint had been filed against New York. (justice.gov) Plaintiffs’ briefs press constitutional claims including Clean Air Act preemption, Commerce Clause burdens on interstate and foreign commerce, and due‑process objections to retroactive liability; the state and its supporters have countered with motions defending state authority. (pillsburylaw.com) Local nonprofit intervenors Conservation Law Foundation and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont were granted leave to defend the statute on June 30, 2025, while a coalition of Republican-led states has intervened on the plaintiffs’ side. (clf.org) (statepowerproject.org) Vermont contracted Industrial Economics, Inc. to calculate the state’s covered adaptation costs, with the cost‑assessment report scheduled for publication by Jan. 15, 2027 and a rulemaking deadline for the Agency of Natural Resources set for Jan. 1, 2028. (climatechange.vermont.gov) The enacted statute defines “responsible parties” as fossil‑fuel extractors or crude‑oil refiners accountable for more than one billion metric tons of covered greenhouse gases from Jan. 1, 1995 through Dec. 31, 2024 and directs recovered funds to specific adaptation projects such as road and bridge upgrades, stormwater and sewer retrofits, and weatherization of public housing. (legislature.vermont.gov)
