While Oklahoma legislators consider legislation to protect oil and gas firms in the state from being sued over climate change claims, in Vermont, it’s just the other way around. The state also finds itself in court defending its law.
The Associated Press reports Vermont’s effort to make fossil fuel companies pay for damage caused by climate change was tested Monday in a federal courtroom, where the state argued that two lawsuits challenging its groundbreaking 2024 law should be thrown out.
Vermont became the first state to enact a climate superfund law, modeled on the federal superfund law that taxed petroleum and chemical companies to pay to clean up sites polluted by toxic waste. It took action after suffering catastrophic summer flooding in 2023 as well as damage from other extreme weather, which scientists say is occurring more frequently due to climate change. The money it collects would be used for climate adaptation projects, such as upgrades to stormwater drainage systems, sewage treatment plants and roads.
Lawsuits by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, considered a top oil and gas industry trade group, were filed against Vermont over the law in December 2024, calling it unconstitutional and a violation of federal law. Vermont was later sued by the Department of Justice after President Donald Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against states that may be overreaching their authority in how they regulate energy development.
Bondi said Vermont’s law targeting the oil and gas companies was “burdensome and ideologically motivated” and also threatened American energy independence and national security.
Oklahoma’s legislature is considering support for SB1439, called the “Energy Security and Independence Act. It already was passed on a 40-7 vote this month in the Senate and was authored by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville and Rep. Antony Moore, R-Clinton.
But the Sierra Club went public this week, condemning the measure.
“We call on all Oklahomans to contact their State House Representatives immediately and demand a NO vote on SB 1439,” stated the organization in a press release. “Under the guise of protecting energy security, SB 1439 strips local communities, landowners, and municipalities of their legal right to seek justice.”
The bill, if approved and signed into law, would prohibit lawsuits against a fossil fuel company over the claimed effects of climate change of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the law would exempt lawsuits for violations of environmental and labor laws.