Trump DOJ Sues to Block States’ Blaming Big Oil for Climate Harm

The Trump administration sued to block New York and three other states from trying to collect billions of dollars from oil companies for damage caused by climate change.

The US sued New York and Vermont Thursday seeking to invalidate the states’ “climate superfund” laws, which empower state officials to pursue payments from the companies to address harms created by increased floods, extreme weather and other costs tied to carbon pollution.

The administration on Wednesday sued Michigan and Hawaii to try to head off planned lawsuits seeking damages against the oil industry. The US claimed the state laws and planned legal actions interfere with federal policy on greenhouse gas regulation and violate the Constitution.

“These burdensome and ideologically motivated laws and lawsuits threaten American energy independence and our country’s economic and national security,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the suits.

The suits were filed less than two months after the US Supreme Court rebuffed a bid by a group of 19 Republican-led states to block five Democratic states, including California and New Jersey, from seeking billions of dollars from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Plc, Chevron Corp. and other oil companies.

Read More: Supreme Court Rebuffs GOP-Backed Bid to Stop Climate Suits

Energy Costs

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced in May 2024 that her office intends to sue the fossil fuel industry for posing long-terms risks to the environment, economy and livelihoods of people in the state, despite knowing the consequences of climate change. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been a proponent of clean energy and in 2023 signed legislation that her office said would make Michigan “a national leader in the fight against climate change.”

In a statement reacting to the Justice Department suit, Nessel said the oil companies don’t need the government’s help in defending themselves in court and should wait for the state to file suit.

“Donald Trump has made clear he will answer any and every beck and call from his Big Oil campaign donors, but this latest favor is perhaps the most surprising debasement of both the White House and DOJ yet,” she said.

“New York’s Climate Superfund law ensures that those who contributed to the climate crisis help pay for the damage they caused,” New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, said in a statement. She said the state will continue to defend the law to protect New Yorkers’ environment and health.

Spokespeople for the attorneys general in Vermont and Hawaii didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the litigation.

The complaint against Hawaii cited a local press report this week that quoted Governor Josh Green saying the state would file a climate change suit Thursday. Court records didn’t show a suit filed by late morning local time.

Greenhouse Dangers

The Trump administration has moved quickly to scrap the US government’s formal conclusion that greenhouse gases endanger the public, as it pivots away from the Joe Biden-era focus on funding clean energy projects.

In mid-April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting the use of coal to meet energy demand from artificial intelligence data centers. He also ordered the Justice Department to take legal action against states that impose fines on fossil fuel companies for their greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite the federal shift toward fossil fuels, some 20 states have ongoing clean energy goals, according to the Clean Energy States Alliance. Michigan is seeking to be fully powered by carbon-free electricity by 2040.

The cases are US v. New York, 25-cv-03656, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan), US v. Vermont, 25-cv-00463, US District Court, District of Vermont (Burlington); US v. Michigan, 25-cv-00496, US District Court, Western District of Michigan, and US v. Hawaii, 25-cv-00179, US District Court, District of Hawaii (Honolulu).

--With assistance from Greg Stohr.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net;
Sakura Murakami in Tokyo at smurakami38@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Peter Jeffrey, Peter Blumberg

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