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The administration is cranking up efforts to kill state laws and legal cases that would force fossil-fuel companies to pay for climate damage.
Sept. 4, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
The Trump administration is escalating its attacks on “polluter pays” laws and lawsuits that try to force fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate change.
There are dozens of these legal fights playing out nationwide. They have become increasingly significant as the Trump administration weakens federal efforts to fight global warming.
The latest move came on Friday, when the Justice Department asked a judge to permanently block New York State from enacting its new Climate Change Superfund Act, a law requiring oil companies to pay billions of dollars to fund projects to protect against intensifying heat, floods, wildfires and other damage from climate change.
“New York has declared war on those responsible for supplying our nation with reliable and affordable energy,” lawyers for the Justice Department wrote.
A senior adviser to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Ken Lovett, shot back that the law was intended to “protect everyday New Yorkers, not corporate polluters” and accused the Justice Department of “federal overreach.”
