President Donald Trump has directed the US Attorney General to take “all appropriate action to stop the enforcement” of state environmental laws, including those in New York and Vermont that would require polluters to pay a portion of the damages caused by climate change.
In an executive order titled “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach,” the president on Wednesday referred to the Climate Superfund Acts passed by both states in 2024 as “extortion” and “fundamentally irreconcilable with my Administration’s objective to unleash American energy.”
“They should not stand,” the president stated.
Vermont was the first state to pass legislation last May that allows it to recover financial damages from fossil fuel companies in the aftermath of catastrophic weather events caused by climate change. The law went into effect without Governor Phil Scott’s signature.
In December, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation similar to this one.
Both laws would use polluter funds to fund projects that improve states’ resilience to climate impacts like flooding and extreme heat.
However, Trump’s order chastised both states for “burdensome and ideologically motivated” policies that jeopardize “American energy dominance and our economic and national security.”
On Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors, stated that Trump’s order violates states’ rights to act on climate.
“The federal government cannot unilaterally revoke states’ independent constitutional authority. We are a nation of states and laws, and we will not be intimidated.”
