New York Judge Blocks State of New York’s Unconstitutional Climate Superfund Act
Monday, August 31, 2026 - Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled that the State of New York may not impose strict liability on energy companies for their alleged contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2024, New York enacted the “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which purported to impose billions of dollars on domestic and foreign energy companies that extract fossil fuels or refine crude oil. A coalition of states and trade organizations sued, alleging that the Act is preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and by the federal foreign affairs power, and that the Act violates the Constitution. After the case was consolidated with a suit filed by a different coalition of trade organizations, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest and presented oral argument in support of the plaintiffs. The court agreed that the New York Climate Change Superfund Act is preempted by the Clean Air Act and by the federal foreign affairs power, and the court held that the Climate Act is invalid.
“The Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s order to protect American energy from state overreach,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “New York’s law would have expropriated $75 billion from energy companies around the world during an energy emergency and in direct defiance of American foreign policy and federal law. We will continue to fight for affordable, reliable energy for all Americans.”
President Trump directed the Attorney General to take action to stop the enforcement of state laws that unreasonably burden domestic energy development so that energy will once again be reliable and affordable for all Americans. The Justice Department’s support in this case advances President Trump’s directive in Executive Order 14260, Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.
The government has also filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York challenging the same expropriative Climate Change Superfund Act. And the government has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont challenging Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act, which seeks to recover an unspecified amount from the same energy companies targeted by the New York Act. In those suits, the government alleges that the New York Climate Change Superfund Act and the Vermont Climate Superfund Act are preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and by the federal foreign affairs power, and that they violate the U.S. Constitution. The Justice Department seeks a declaration that these state laws are unconstitutional and an injunction against their enforcement.
U.S. Department of Justice
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Source: Justice.gov
