On May 1, 2025, the Trump administration filed suit against the state of New York in efforts to block enforcement of climate superfund laws, which seek to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for their share of the emissions that have contributed to the increasing scale of costly climate disasters between 1995 and 2024. The administration alleged that the state’s 2024 Climate Change Superfund Act is unconstitutional because it purports to regulate the effect of greenhouse gases on climate change and thus stretches beyond the borders of the state. The administration also alleged these funds are unlawful “money-extraction schemes.” Finally, the administration argued that New York’s statutes are preempted by the Clean Air Act, violate due process, violate the interstate and foreign commerce clauses, and infringe on the federal government’s authority over foreign affairs.

The novel Climate Superfund Act is based on the established environmental doctrine of “polluter pays” for hazardous waste remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act—the existing Superfund law—and adapts that to climate change. Striking down or chilling this law would leave taxpayers, rather than polluters, to bear the costs of climate adaptation and disaster recovery.

New York’s Climate Superfund law ensures that those who contributed to the climate crisis help pay for the damage they caused. Attorney General Letitia James