A Vermont law empowering the state to charge polluters for climate change damage is unconstitutional and preempted by the Clean Air Act, the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute allege in a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in the US District Court for the District of Vermont, marks the first of an expected wave of litigation against states, including New York, with climate Superfund laws.
The complaint is an important legal test as more states consider holding fossil fuels liable for expensive global warming-intensified events like floods, fires, and more. Maryland and Massachusetts are among states ...