On 26 December, 2024, the State of New York became the second state, behind Vermont, to enact into law a Climate Superfund.
California, Massachusetts and New Jersey are next up.
These laws aim to hold fossil fuel companies liable for a portion of the climate change costs within a state and were modeled after federal Superfund legislation.
The New York Superfund hopes to collect $3 billion a year, for 25 years. The money is expected to come from organizations that produced the most greenhouse gas emissions in New York between 2000 and 2018.
The targeted companies will vigorously defend themselves in court and it remains to be seen who will win. However, a recent Supreme Court decision to reject a defendant appeal on a similar carbon emissions suit in Hawaii suggests the state Superfunds have a fighting chance of success.
If the Superfunds survive their day in court, we will then see a ‘run on the bank’ as more states will rush to put Superfunds into law. States will then be divided between givers and takers – the givers being the states that are paying more for fossil fuel but do not have a superfund; and the takers will be the states that have the superfunds.