New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed legislation Thursday that requires companies responsible for massive amounts of global warming pollution to contribute to efforts to remediate the damage caused by climate change.
Under a new state law, companies responsible for the majority of emissions from 2000 to 2018 will be liable for about $3 billion a year over the next 25 years. The law is modeled after the federal Superfund law, which imposes cleanup laws on companies that cause pollution.
Notably, the Environmental Protection Agency invoked Superfund law last year in East Palestine, Ohio, after a rail car carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in the town.
Co-sponsor Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger called the New York bill “a blow that will be heard around the world.”
“Over the past decade, courts have too often dismissed cases against the oil and gas industry, saying the issue of climate change liability should be decided by Congress,” she said in a statement. “Now, the New York state legislature, the world's 10th largest economy, has accepted the invitation, and I think we have made it clear: Earth's biggest climate polluters have their own unique causes that have caused the climate crisis. They are responsible and must pay their fair share to help ordinary New Yorkers deal with the consequences.”
Mr. Hochul's signature makes New York the second state after Vermont to enact such a law, although the Empire State is much larger, more populous, and a major U.S. and international financial power. It's central.
Neither New York law nor Vermont law is guaranteed to survive legal challenge. The American Petroleum Institute (API) vocally lobbied the New York State Legislature last year to oppose the law and questioned its durability in court. The Hill has reached out to API for comment.
President-elect Trump, who has denied the existence of climate change and vowed to pursue pro-fossil fuel policies in his second term, is unlikely to devote much, if any, energy to mitigating climate change. This will put a strain on large Democratic states like New York and California, the latter of which were announced earlier this month by the Biden administration with a goal of phasing out sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Approved.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) told The Hill that the state expects the new administration to challenge the waiver in court.
