Story perspectives

Judge Blocks New York’s $3B Climate Superfund Act

9/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. District Judge Brenda Sannes ruled New York cannot enforce its 2024 Climate Change Superfund Act.
The Act would have forced three dozen fossil-fuel firms to pay $3 billion annually for 25 years, $75 billion total.
Sannes held the law was preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and exceeded state jurisdiction.
Twenty-two Republican state attorneys general joined the challenge, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute also suing.

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Story summary

U.S. District Judge Brenda Sannes ruled New York cannot enforce its 2024 Climate Change Superfund Act.
The Act would have forced three dozen fossil-fuel firms to pay $3 billion annually for 25 years, $75 billion total.
Sannes held the law was preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and exceeded state jurisdiction.
Twenty-two Republican state attorneys general joined the challenge, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute also suing.