New York climate superfund law struck down by judge

New York's climate superfund law was struck down by a federal judge on Monday, wiping out a measure that would have required fossil fuel companies to pay $75 billion for damage linked to their historic greenhouse gas emissions.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law in December 2024. It would have funded projects meant to strengthen New York against climate impacts including flooding and extreme heat.

Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups challenged the law. Federal Judge Brenda Sannes ruled against New York and threw out the law in its entirety.

Michael Gerrard, a climate law professor at Columbia University, said the ruling relied heavily on federal preemption: the argument that the Environmental Protection Agency has exclusive authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and that imposing liability on fossil fuel companies amounts to regulation.

Climate campaigners urged New York Attorney General Letitia James to appeal. Maya Golden-Krasner, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said she hoped the ruling would not deter other states. Gerrard said the ruling is not binding on Vermont, which has a similar law, but would likely be considered by the judge in that case.

The Justice Department is separately suing New York and Vermont over their laws under an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump last year. The Supreme Court is due on October 5 to hear arguments in Suncor v. Boulder, another climate case involving related preemption questions.