Defending climate liability

Seventy-eight Connecticut groups sent a letter this week warning that the next climate fight is no longer just about passing new laws, but stopping Washington from wiping them out after the fact. The target is a push by oil and gas interests for federal immunity from state climate liability laws and lawsuits. (cleantechnica.com) A “polluter pays” law works like a cleanup bill after a spill: the company linked to the damage helps cover the cost instead of sending the tab to taxpayers. Climate versions apply that idea to floods, heat, stormwater systems, roads, and other infrastructure strained by fossil-fuel-driven warming. (georgetown.edu) Vermont passed the first state climate superfund law in 2024. Its statute says money collected can be used for projects like flood protection, home buyouts, sewage plant upgrades, grid resilience, cooling systems, and recovery from extreme weather. (legislature.vermont.gov) New York followed on December 26, 2024, when Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law designed to collect $75 billion over 25 years from major oil and gas companies for climate adaptation. The state said the model was based on the older Superfund system used for hazardous waste cleanup. (nysenate.gov) That is why Connecticut groups are worried now even though Connecticut has not enacted one of these laws yet. If Congress or the executive branch creates a nationwide shield first, states could lose the power to pass or enforce their own climate cost-recovery laws later. (cleantechnica.com) The industry campaign is no longer hypothetical. Utah just passed a law meant to insulate fossil fuel companies from climate liability, and national Republicans are working on a federal version that would block similar claims more broadly. (nytimes.com) ProPublica reported that at least 15 shield bills are being considered in statehouses, many tied to a coordinated effort by groups linked to conservative legal activist Leonard Leo. The goal is to build the same kind of legal wall that gun manufacturers won in 2005, when Congress sharply limited many lawsuits against the firearms industry. (propublica.org) The courtroom fight is already underway. The American Petroleum Institute and the United States Chamber of Commerce sued Vermont over its law in December 2024, and the Trump administration later joined the broader attack on state climate superfund efforts. (yaleclimateconnections.org) Industry lawyers say these laws are unconstitutional because they reach beyond state borders and interfere with federal authority over energy and emissions. Supporters answer that states are doing what states have always done in tort and cleanup law: assigning costs after damage occurs inside their borders. (pillsburylaw.com) That is why a Connecticut letter to federal leaders matters beyond Connecticut. The first phase of this movement was getting New York and Vermont to pass the laws, and the second phase is making sure those laws survive long enough to send a bill. (cleantechnica.com)