On Wednesday—the fourth day New York’s annual Climate Week—a federal judge handed the Trump administration a major victory by striking down New York’s landmark Climate Change Superfund Act.
asserted
judge → hand → Act
Judge P. Kevin Castel ruled that the law, which sought to hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for climate change-related damages, overstepped the state’s authority because it was preempted by the national Clean Air Act and interfered with the federal government’s ability to conduct foreign affairs.
asserted
it → rule → affairs
Castel’s ruling comes just a few weeks after a similar decision by Judge Brenda Sannes in a parallel case brought by a coalition of Republican-led states, business groups, and fossil fuel companies.
asserted
ruling → come → states
Enacted in 2024, the New York law was part of a major push in Democratic-leaning states to crack down on carbon pollution in a way the federal government has so far failed to do.
asserted
government → enact → way
It employed a familiar strategy from the 1980s: Make polluters pay.
asserted
polluters → employ → 1980s
Modeled after the federal Superfund statute for toxic waste dumps, New York’s climate superfund law would have charged fossil fuel companies $75 billion over 25 years to fund climate adaptation and infrastructure projects.
asserted
law → model → projects
Since the measure’s introduction in 2023, lawmakers in other states have pursued similar legislation.
asserted
lawmakers → pursue → legislation
As of now, the back-to-back court decisions directly apply only within New York state.
asserted
decisions → apply → state
But these rulings could offer the fossil fuel industry a roadmap for challenging similar laws, and the judges’ reasoning could ultimately be adopted by other courts, including the Supreme Court.
uncertain
reasoning → offer → Court
Now, state lawmakers considering their own climate superfund legislation face a difficult choice: Change course in response to the New York rulings, or push ahead and try to defend their bills in court.
asserted
lawmakers → consider → court
I spoke to lawmakers and advocates from Minnesota, Washington, Connecticut, and Vermont, all of whom have either drafted legislation, are considering legislation, or, in the case of Vermont, have successfully passed their own climate superfund law.
asserted
all → speak → law
While slightly different in their state-specific parameters, the legislators and activists behind these bills share the same goal: With climate-related damage already costing states and residents considerable amounts of money, the companies responsible for a significant share of historical emissions should help cover the bill.
asserted
companies → share → bill
In Minnesota, a superfund bill has already been introduced, and legislators in Washington and Connecticut are planning to propose bills for their upcoming legislative sessions.
asserted
legislators → introduce → sessions
Bloomberg recently reported that lawmakers in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts are all continuing to move forward with superfund legislation.
asserted
lawmakers → report → legislation
After the first New York ruling, I asked Minnesota State Rep. Athena Hollins, a deputy floor leader for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, what she thought of the decision.
asserted
she → ask → decision
“I find it personally disappointing,” she replied, “because the reality is these costs are coming.”
asserted
costs → find → ?
According to NOAA’s archived Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database—which is now run by Climate Central after being shuttered by the Trump administration—Minnesota has experienced 62 confirmed weather or climate disaster events exceeding $1 billion between 1980 and 2024.
uncertain
Minnesota → accord → 1980
Climate change has contributed to higher temperatures and more intense rainfall in the state, leading to major challenges for its agricultural sector and outdoor adventure industry.
asserted
change → contribute → sector
Hollins, who introduced and co-sponsored Minnesota’s superfund bill earlier this year, told me that Minnesotans could face $20 billion or more in climate-related costs by 2040.
uncertain
Minnesotans → introduce → 2040
“That’s roughly a third of our state’s current budget,” she said.
asserted
she → ’ → budget
Her state’s superfund legislation would charge major polluters for damages to bridges, roads, and buildings caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
asserted
legislation → charge → emissions
That money would pay for natural disaster recovery, infrastructure projects, and public health efforts linked to pollution.
asserted
money → pay → pollution
Infrastructures costs, Hollins notes, are inevitably going to rise.
asserted
Hollins → note → ?
“So is it taxpayers who are going to pay for it?” she asks.
asserted
she → go → it
For Hollins, the New York rulings “has literally no bearing on what we’re doing in the State of Minnesota.”
asserted
we → have → Minnesota
She also notes the “shaky” appellate court precedent on which the rulings are based aren’t necessarily relevant to federal courts in Minnesota.
asserted
rulings → note → Minnesota
Washington State Rep. Shaun Scott, a Democratic Socialist representing part of Seattle, actually sees the New York ruling as a “silver lining” for his own state—a roadmap for avoiding legal vulnerabilities in crafting his own legislation.
asserted
Scott → represent → legislation
“We have watched with great interest the way the federal government has dealt with New York State because we understand there’s the potential that we will experience similar roadblocks,” Scott said.
asserted
Scott → watch → roadblocks
“It gives us the opportunity to see where any landmines might be and legally sidestep some of them.
uncertain
landmines → give → them
In Scott’s view, Washington State is uniquely positioned to successfully pass a climate superfund law, given its passage of the Climate Commitment Act in 2022 requiring greenhouse gas emitters to buy pollution credits.
asserted
State → position → credits
Last year, he spearheaded the passage of the Wildfire Alleviation Support Act, which charges major financial and tech firms that rely heavily on data centers and uses the funds for the state’s wildfire resilience efforts.
asserted
that → spearhead → efforts
The state is particularly vulnerable to wildfires given its large, lush forests and decreasing snowfall earlier in the season, and, according to Scott, overuse of energy-intensive data centers has contributed to that risk.
uncertain
overuse → give → risk
Scott hopes to use these existing laws as models for a future climate superfund bill, which he plans to introduce in the upcoming legislative session in January.
asserted
he → hop → January
To help draft the bill, Scott’s office has been working with 350Seattle, a climate justice organization that advocates for communities most impacted by climate change.
asserted
that → help → change
Akiksha Chatterji, 350Seattle’s campaign director, said the group began organizing around superfund legislation after seeing Vermont and New York move forward with their laws in 2024.
asserted
Vermont → say → 2024
Chatterji says the New York litigation won’t deter 350Seattle’s plans.
asserted
litigation → say → plans
“We are very clear that no matter what the outcome is in other states, we are moving full steam ahead because rulings in those circuits don’t impact us.”
asserted
rulings → move → us
In Connecticut—which is subject to the same appellate court precedents as New York—State Rep. Josh Elliott expressed more concern about the implications of the Empire State’s legal battle.
asserted
Elliott → express → battle
Connecticut’s bill, a cost-recovery program, would calculate what share of emissions since 1995 is attributable to the largest fossil fuel producers.
asserted
share → calculate → producers
Then the state would issue payment demands.
asserted
state → issue → demands
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
