Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) announced during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing last month that she is working with colleagues in both chambers to draft legislation shielding energy companies from climate liability lawsuits and state climate laws.
During the hearing, she described state climate actions as “extreme anti-energy policies taken by states and cities that serve only to increase costs on the American people.”
The details, scope, and current status of the draft legislation remain unclear. Her office did not respond to requests for comment, according to the report.
She told one news outlet she believes there is “absolutely” interest among colleagues to pursue the bill, and that it “would be a form of preemption” blocking state and local liability actions against energy companies.
Industry Lobbying and Legal Pressure
Hageman said she had not heard from the industry on the issue. But recent lobbying disclosures show the American Petroleum Institute has been lobbying lawmakers on “draft legislation related to state efforts to impose liability on the oil and gas industry.”
The oil lobby has publicly listed stopping “extreme climate liability policies” as one of its top priorities.
API senior vice president and general counsel Ryan Meyers said in a statement: “These lawsuits and so-called superfund laws are part of a coordinated campaign against an industry that is vital to everyday life and serves as the engine of America’s economy.”
He added that “penalizing companies for meeting consumer demand for affordable, reliable energy would set a dangerous new legal precedent.”
Sixteen Republican attorneys general wrote to US Attorney General Pam Bondi in June suggesting the Department of Justice could recommend legislation creating this type of liability shield.
Courts and Congress Converge
The US Supreme Court agreed last month to take up a petition from Suncor and ExxonMobil in a climate-damages case brought by Boulder, Colorado. The petition argues Boulder’s claims are barred by federal law.
If the justices agree, the ruling could invalidate not only Boulder’s lawsuit but numerous similar cases. The court is expected to hear the case during its term starting in October.
Dozens of local communities, states, and individuals are currently suing major oil and gas companies over rising climate costs and for allegedly misleading consumers about climate risks. Some states have also enacted or are considering climate superfund laws that would impose retroactive charges on large fossil fuel producers to fund adaptation measures.
The proposed legislation draws comparisons to the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which granted gun manufacturers broad immunity from liability lawsuits.
Cassidy DiPaola, communications director of Make Polluters Pay, said Hageman’s announcement “confirms that the fossil fuel industry is escalating its effort to avoid accountability.”
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