President Takes Aim at State’s Climate Law
By Brendan J. Lyons
ALBANY — President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week that directs the U.S. attorney general to evaluate state “climate” laws that his administration alleges may be illegal, including New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, which establishes regulations seeking to collect billions of dollars in penalties from companies deemed responsible for greenhouse gas emissions due to their refinement and production of fossil fuels.
Under the order, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi must “take all appropriate action to stop the enforcement of state laws and continuation of civil actions … that the attorney general determines to be illegal.”
“These state laws and policies try to dictate interstate and international disputes over air, water, and natural resources; unduly discriminate against out-of-state businesses; contravene the equality of states; and retroactively impose arbitrary and excessive fines without legitimate justification,” the president’s order states. “These state laws and policies are fundamentally irreconcilable with my administration’s objective to unleash American energy. They should not stand.”
More than 20 states, fossil fuel companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently filed federal lawsuits against New York challenging the constitutionality of the new Climate Change Superfund Act. It was signed into law at the end of December by Gov. Kathy Hochul, over the objections of a coalition of business, energy and labor organizations aligned with the Business Council of New York State, which had asked the governor to veto the bill.
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Trump’s executive order is expected to add fuel to the ongoing court battles over the legislation at a time when many states, including California and New York, are struggling to meet mandates set by other laws to transition their power supplies away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, including wind and solar. The president’s order accuses New York and Vermont of seeking to “extort” money from fossil fuel companies for past greenhouse gas emissions and claims other states “have taken different approaches in an effort to dictate national energy policy.”
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Several environmental groups issued statements Wednesday condemning Trump’s executive order.
“President Trump’s order attack on ‘climate superfund’ and cap-and-invest laws is his latest attempt to destroy our constitutional rights and punish states taking action on the climate crisis,” said a statement issued by NY Renews. “It will condemn New Yorkers to astronomical energy bills and a country where heat waves, floods, and other extreme weather events assault our health.”
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