Republican lawmakers in multiple states and Congress are advancing proposals to shield polluters from climate accountability and prevent any type of liability for climate change harms—even as these harms and their associated costs continue to mount.
It’s the latest in a counter-offensive that has unfolded on multiple fronts, from the halls of Congress and the White House to courts and state attorneys general offices across the country.
Dozens of local communities, states and individuals are suing major oil and gas companies and their trade associations over rising climate costs and for allegedly lying to consumers about climate change risks and solutions. At the same time, some states are enacting or considering laws modeled after the federal Superfund program that would impose retroactive liability on large fossil fuel producers and levy a one-time charge on them to help fund climate adaptation and resiliency measures.
But many of these cases and climate superfund laws could be stopped in their tracks, either by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court or by the Republican-controlled Congress.
Last month the court decided to take up a petition lodged by oil companies Suncor and ExxonMobil in a climate-damages case brought against the companies by Boulder, Colorado. The petition argues that Boulder’s claims are barred by federal law, and if the justices agree, it could knock out not only Boulder’s lawsuit but also many others like it. The court is expected to hear the case during its upcoming term that starts in October.
There is also a possibility that Republicans in Congress will take action before then to gift the fossil fuel industry legal immunity, similar to that granted to gun manufacturers with the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Sixteen Republican attorneys general wrote to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in June suggesting that the Department of Justice could recommend legislation creating precisely this type of liability shield. And last month, one Republican congresswoman announced that such legislation is indeed in the works.
The Fossil Fuel Immunity Push
During a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing last month, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) used her time in questioning Bondi to denounce state climate laws and lawsuits, or as Hageman described them, “extreme anti-energy policies taken by states and cities that serve only to increase costs on the American people.” Noting that multiple climate lawsuits are now advancing toward trial, Hageman said this is an area where “Congress has a role to play.”
“To that end, I’m working with my colleagues in both the House and Senate to craft legislation tackling both these state laws and the lawsuits that could destroy energy affordability for consumers,” the congresswoman announced.
The details, scope and current status of this draft legislation are unclear. Hageman’s office did not respond to Inside Climate News’ request for an interview nor to questions sent via email.
Hageman told E&E News that she thinks there is “absolutely” interest among her colleagues to take up legislation shielding energy companies from climate liability, and that it “would be a form of preemption” that could bar state and local liability actions. The news organization also reported that Hageman said she had not heard from the industry on the issue.
“If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t need immunity”
— Iyla Shornstein, Center for Climate Integrity
But recent lobbying disclosures show that 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 is also now stating publicly that stopping “extreme climate liability policies” is one of its top priorities.
State Liability Shield Bills
In addition to federal efforts to immunize the fossil fuel industry from legal liability, Republican lawmakers in at least five states have introduced similar anti-liability bills that would protect the industry or other big greenhouse-gas emitters.
In Oklahoma, state Sen. Julie Daniels introduced a bill called the “Energy Security and Independence Act.” The bill, which has already been approved by the Senate, would prohibit lawsuits relating to climate change against entities that produce, manufacture or sell fossil fuels as well as their trade associations.
Nearly 200 advocacy groups sent a letter last year to Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), urging them to “draw a line in the sand” and unite their caucuses in opposing any efforts in Congress to shield climate polluters from legal consequences. The Center for Climate Integrity said the letter received no response. Neither the offices of Schumer nor Jeffries responded to inquiries from Inside Climate News.
In 2020, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland led a coalition of 60 House Democrats in a letter opposing a previous attempt by the oil and gas industry to secure legal immunity through draft legislation in Congress.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who along with Raskin released a joint staff report in 2024 on the industry’s “campaign of deception, disinformation, and doublespeak” to block climate action, told Inside Climate News that he “hasn’t seen any such legislation.”
“But any scheme to let Big Oil mega-corporations off the hook would be an insult to the American people, who are currently footing the bill for the industry’s widespread damages,” Whitehouse added.