Utah Leads Red States in Passing Climate Liability Shield Law

Utah has enacted a first-in-the-nation law protecting companies from being held liable from damages related to greenhouse gas emissions, a move that comes just a few months after a legal challenge was brought against the state’s fossil fuel industry over the issue.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox on Monday signed HB 222 into law, shielding any person in the state from criminal or civil liabilities related to damages from climate change stemming from greenhouse gas emissions, unless the person has violated a specific restriction or permit. Plaintiffs also would have to “show by clear and convincing evidence that unavoidable and identifiable ...