Attorneys general sue New York to block climate change law

(The Center Square) —  New York is being sued by a group of Republican attorneys general over a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pony up money to the state for alleged damages caused by climate change.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court by West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey and 21 other attorneys general, is the first major challenge to New York’s new Climate Change Superfund Act. The act authorizes the state Department of Environmental Conservation to collect $75 billion from oil and gas companies over the next 25 years, averaging $3 billion a year.

The attorneys general are asking a federal judge to impose a preliminary injunction, blocking the law during the legal challenge, arguing that it is preempted by federal energy policies.

McCuskey said the legal challenge seeks to ensure that New York’s “misguided” clean energy policies are not “forced” on the rest of the nation, which he said would “lead America into the doldrums of an energy crisis, allowing China, India and Russia to overtake our energy independence.”

“The iconic New York City skyline was built with the blood, sweat and labor of the men and women of our coalfields — from the steel in their skyscrapers, down to the electricity they use every day,” he said in a statement. “The level of ungratefulness from the elites in New York for the sacrifices that continue to be made to give them the lavish lifestyle they enjoy is beyond the pale.”

Responding to the lawsuit, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to fight to uphold the new climate change law, writing “bring it on” on a social media post highlighting the legal challenge.

The lawsuit, backed by the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, the West Virginia Coal Association and other coal industry trade groups, argues that the law will be “devastating” to fossil fuel energy producers, including coal mining operations in West Virginia, “leaving them with no other option than to cease operations, resulting in massive job losses.”

“This law is unconstitutional,” McCuskey said. “If we allow New York to get away with this, it will only be a matter of time before other states follow suit – wrecking our nation’s power grid.”

New York’s climate change law, modeled on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s superfund program, targets high-emission corporations such as ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron and mandates that they be held financially accountable for a portion of the costs of extreme weather damage in the state.

Democratic lawmakers who backed the measure say New York taxpayers face rising costs to cover damages caused by climate change and argue that the oil companies must be on the hook for covering those costs.

However, business and industry groups argue that the law will do little to blunt the impact of climate change while passing on the costs to the state’s consumers in the form of higher energy bills.

President Donald Trump, who took over the White House in January, has pledged to focus on developing the nation’s fossil fuel industry, rolling back environmental regulations and reducing tailpipe pollution as part of his energy independence agenda.

West Virginia is joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

By Chris Wade | The Center Square contributor