On May 1, 2025, the Trump administration filed suit against the state of Vermont in an effort 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 Vermont’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.

I supported this legislation [Climate Superfund Act], and we look forward to defending it in court. American energy is at an all time high, and state laws are not a threat to American energy. Attorney General Charity Clark