Trump’s Order on State Climate Policies Has More Bark Than Bite

President Donald Trump’s campaign to probe and “take action against” state climate policies has a limited reach, attorneys say, yet still puts smaller governments on notice that their moves are under close scrutiny.

The April 8 executive order, Protecting American Energy from State Overreach, tasks the US attorney general and federal agency heads with taking stock of state and local climate laws, regulations, and lawsuits that might impede energy deployment, violate the Constitution, or usurp the government’s authority.

Trump pointed specifically to New York and Vermont’s climate Superfund laws, which seek to charge fossil fuel companies billions for their ...