The Justice Department has filed a motion seeking to strike down Vermont’s climate law that would force energy companies to pay billions for alleged past climate damage.
The federal challenge represents the Trump administration’s latest effort to block state climate policies that target fossil fuel producers.
Vermont’s “climate superfund” law aims to hold oil and gas companies financially responsible for climate-related damages in the state. The Justice Department argues the statute violates federal authority over greenhouse gas emissions.
“Vermont is defying federal law, the Constitution, and binding precedent — all so it can punish disfavored businesses for ill-defined harms, without regard to the real harm to our federal system and the Nation’s energy needs,” the department stated in its motion.
The filing urged the court to “end Vermont’s lawless experiment.”
The motion follows a May complaint against Vermont and New York for similar climate liability statutes. Both challenges stem from Trump’s executive order protecting American energy from state interference.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Environment and Natural Resources Division accused Vermont of overstepping its bounds.
“Like New York, Vermont is usurping the federal government’s exclusive authority over nationwide and global greenhouse gas emissions,” Gustafson said.
He added that “Vermont’s flagrantly unconstitutional statute threatens to throttle energy production, despite this Administration’s efforts to unleash American energy. It’s high time for the courts to put a stop to this crippling state overreach.”
The legal filing was submitted by Chief of Staff John Adams and Counsel Riley Walters of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Vermont’s climate superfund law represents one of several state-level attempts to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate costs.