In early May, Vermont lawmakers passed the landmark Climate Superfund
Act
— which aims to hold big fossil-fuel companies financially accountable for the
emissions they produce, as it pertains to climate change.
In short, the Climate Superfund Act
directs
the state treasurer to work with climate scientists to catalog the damage
Vermont has seen due to climate change between 1995 and 2024 — and what it will
cost to adapt to a warmer future with more volatile weather — with Vermont’s
Agency of Natural Resources to “bill” the largest fossil-fuel companies for
their share of climate-change costs proportional to their emissions in the state
during that time period.
The law — which passed both chambers of Vermont’s legislature and entered into
law without Republican Gov. Phil
Scott’s signature — is modeled after
the EPA’s Superfund program, which aims to hold
companies responsible for major environmental cleanups across the country.
Vermont’s State Treasurer’s office has until January 2026 to file a report
detailing what climate change has cost the Green Mountain State; it’s
unclear when (or if) Vermont will see a penny of damages, since the law is sure
to be challenged.
It’s the latest in a series of ambitious, climate-driven political and legal
endeavors to hold the fossil-fuel industry accountable for its role in
accelerating climate change and a host of other environmental issues.
What sets Vermont’s bill apart is that it is the first tangible piece of
climate-accountability legislation to become law. Tom
Hughes, senior strategist at
the Vermont Public Interest Research Group is a big
proponent but expects legal challenges to follow.
“That ball will be in the fossil-fuel industry’s court, and they will have to
challenge it,” he told Sustainable Brands®.
Tidal wave of legal action for climate accountability
The Vermont bill is preceded by several recent, notable pieces of climate
litigation and legislation — which are now in similar states of limbo: Attorneys
in the landmark 2023 Held v.
Montana
suit — in which the judge ruled in
favor
of 16 young plaintiffs who accused state officials of violating their
constitutional rights to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting fossil
fuels — are gearing up for a next phase in front of Montana’s Supreme Court;
while Multnomah County, Oregon’s 2023 “heat dome”
suit
— in which the state’s most populous county sued 17 fossil-fuel companies for a
deadly 2021 heat wave — was recently sent
back
to continue in Oregon Circuit Court.
Earlier this month, California Attorney General Rob
Bonta amended” his 2023 lawsuit — which calls out the American Petroleum Institute and
the world’s five largest fossil-fuel companies for deceiving the public for decades
regarding the reality of climate change and its connection to the combustion of
fossil fuels, resulting in climate change-related harms in California — which
includes additional examples of recent false advertising and
greenwashing
by the oil companies. And similar to the young Montanans, eight Alaska youth
are now suing their state
government
over a controversial natural-gas pipeline project, saying that further
fossil-fuel development in the state — the fastest-warming state in the US —
threatens their constitutional right to a livable climate.
What’s to come
Environmentalists in Vermont are expecting every possible legal challenge; as
with many of the other laws and suits, a stay from a federal judge could put a
long-winded pause on the bill’s implementation.
If the Montana Supreme Court sides with the youth plaintiffs and ends the
trajectory of appeal, it will set an intriguing precedent to guide
climate-accountability bills through other chambers across the country — not to
mention other pending and future lawsuits.
Oregon’s judiciary has already proven that by sending Multnomah County’s suit
back to circuit court — it’s a message that modern judges might be more
interested in leaving accountability to the discretion of the states, rather
than a sweeping national ruling.
Vermont’s leadership in this arena is welcome and critical, but expect much more
significant momentum if states such as New
York and
California
pass — and ultimately, enforce — their own versions of legislated climate
accountability.
Regardless, the growing wave of these suits and measures is drawing much-needed
attention to corporate polluters’ role in fueling climate change. As Michael
Burger — executive
director of Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change
Law — told
NPR:
“Just by virtue of bringing these cases — mobilizing public attention, putting
the impacts and the issues of climate change front and center — I think that
these cases have been very high impact, even where they have lost in court.”
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Geoff is a freelance journalist and copywriter focused on making the world a better place through compelling copy. He covers everything from apparel to travel while helping brands worldwide craft their messaging. In addition to Sustainable Brands, he's currently a contributor at Penta, AskMen.com, Field Mag and many others. You can check out more of his work at geoffnudelman.com.
Published Jun 20, 2024 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST