"A new executive order directs the DOJ to put any enforcement of state climate laws and initiatives on ice"
"As several climate liability lawsuits against large oil and gas companies inch closer to trial and states start to adopt climate “Superfund” legislation, the White House and Republican-controlled Congress are rolling out new measures to shield the industry from accountability.
In a new executive order signed at a White House event on April 8, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to cease enforcement of state climate laws and initiatives—including but not limited to laws and lawsuits targeting fossil fuel companies. It instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi, in consultation with agency heads, to identify “all state and local laws” and regulations, policies, and legal actions that hamper fossil fuel production and that try to rein in climate pollution or address environmental justice. That includes lawsuits and legislation that attempt to hold Big Oil accountable for climate damages and deception.
The order specifically calls out California’s cap-and-trade policy, polluter-pays climate Superfund laws in Vermont and New York, and state climate lawsuits against energy companies that “could result in crippling damages.”
The order comes after oil CEOs recently met with Trump and reportedly asked for his help in quashing their mounting climate liability risks. At a private White House meeting on March 19, chief executives from major oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Hess, discussed their growing concerns about state climate liability laws and lawsuits that could put the industry on the hook for paying billions of dollars in damage costs, the Wall Street Journal reported. The oil companies reportedly encouraged the DOJ to file briefs on its behalf or to directly sue states like New York and Vermont that have enacted climate Superfund laws."
Advertisement 
