DOJ sues NY, Hawaii, Vermont, Michigan over climate policies threatening 'energy independence'

On Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that lawsuits have been filed against several states over certain climate policies that the federal government says impede natural energy production and threaten energy independence. The complaints were filed against the states of New York, Vermont, Michigan, and Hawaii.

This comes after President Donald Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to take decisive action to stop the enforcement of state laws that "unreasonably burden domestic energy development," per the DOJ. The president issued this directive through an executive order titled "Protecting American Energy from State Overreach."

The Justice Department has sued New York and Vermont over their "climate superfund laws," which are laws that impose strict liability on energy companies for extracting or refining fossil fuels. The laws penalize businesses that are allegedly contributing to climate change. The New York law seeks $75 billion from energy companies, while the Vermont law does not disclose a specific amount.

The states of Hawaii and Michigan are being sued over their intention to sue fossil fuel companies on claims that these companies have created climate change harms. The Justice Department said that these states' lawsuits "burden energy production, force the American people to pay more for energy, and make the United States less able to defend itself from hostile foreign actors." The government alleges that these anticipated actions "are preempted by the Clean Air Act and violate the Constitution."

"These burdensome and ideologically motivated laws and lawsuits threaten American energy independence and our country's economic and national security," said Attorney General Pam Bondi. "The Department of Justice is working to 'Unleash American Energy' by stopping these illegitimate impediments to the production of affordable, reliable energy that Americans deserve."

Adam Gustafson, acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, stated: "When states seek to regulate energy beyond their constitutional or statutory authority, they harm the country's ability to produce energy and they aid our adversaries. The Department's filings seek to protect Americans from unlawful overreach that would threaten energy independence, critical to the well-being and security of all Americans."