New York to Charge Fossil Fuel Companies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

New York becomes the second state to enact a ‘polluter pays’ Climate Change SuperFund Act. New Jersey, California, and Maryland could be next.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul addresses reporters during a news conference in New York on March 13, 2023. Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo

The state of New York will charge carbon-emitting companies an estimated $75 billion in climate damage that they allegedly caused between 2000 and 2018, under a law enacted on Dec. 26.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act into law on Dec. 26. The law is certain to be challenged in court as a state preemption of federal regulatory oversight.