The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York recently struck down an Alabama-contested New York law that attempted to extract funds from energy producers.
New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act sought to extract $75 billion in fines from major oil and gas companies for global emissions and use the proceeds for in-state adaptation and lawful energy production dating back decades.
The law created a Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. It imposed strict liability on companies that extracted fossil fuels or refined crude oil, claiming the covered companies were responsible for greenhouse-gas emissions from 2000 to 2024.
“This ruling puts a stop to New York’s attempt to penalize two decades of lawful energy production that has put Alabamians to work and kept energy affordable for families and businesses across our state,” Marshall said. “New York cannot try to regulate the global energy industry by branding hardworking men and women and their employers as illegal operations and fine them $75 billion. We will always fight to protect Alabama energy workers. That’s why our coalition stepped in to fight this far-left policy, and why we won’t let rogue liberal states get away with the same overreaching tactics.”
The fines were intended to run retroactively, applying to energy production from decades previous. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined several other states, along with President Donald Trump’s administration and attorneys representing the coal, oil, and natural gas industries.
New York’s Northern District found the law to be unenforceable since it was preempted by federal law.
Marshall joined the West Virginia-led effort along with Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
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Read More: ‘New York cannot try to regulate the global energy industry’ — Alabama
