Twenty-two states are suing New York over a law forcing energy producers to pay for the costs of “climate change” damage.
The state’s Climate Superfund Act “could impose $75 billion of liability on major fossil fuel companies by requiring them to pay into a state ‘climate Superfund’ based on their past greenhouse gas emissions,” a release for the lawsuit says. The payments are based on emissions from 2000-2018.
According to the New York law, it is “now possible to determine with great accuracy the share of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by specific fossil fuel companies over the last 70 years or more, making it possible to assign liability to and require compensation from companies commensurate with their emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere during a given time period.”
The law asserts that companies have “contributed significantly to the buildup of greenhouse gases, the primary cause of climate change.”
West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey is leading the effort. States joining West Virginia include 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.
“The iconic New York City skyline was built with the blood, sweat and labor of the men and women of our coalfields — from the steel in their skyscrapers, down to the electricity they use every day. The level of ungratefulness from the elites in New York for the sacrifices that continue to be made to give them the lavish lifestyle they enjoy is beyond the pale,” McCuskey said. “This lawsuit is to ensure that these misguided policies, being forced from one state onto the entire nation, will not lead America into the doldrums of an energy crisis, allowing China, India and Russia to overtake our energy independence.”
The filing targets New York Attorney General Letitia James, Interim Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Sean Mahar, and Acting Tax Commissioner Amanda Hiller.
“In an unprecedented effort, New York has set out to impose tens of billions of dollars of liability on traditional energy producers disfavored by certain New York politicians,” the lawsuit says. “These energy producers needn’t operate in New York before becoming a target.”
The lawsuit describes the climate policy as an “ugly example of the chaos that can result when States overreach.”
