By Rick Steelhammer, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A recently enacted New York law seeking to collect $75 billion from fossil fuel companies — including those in other states — for past greenhouse gas emissions believed to have caused damage from climate change is being challenged in court by West Virginia Attorney General John “JB” McCuskey.
A coalition of 21 other Republican attorneys general joined in the civil lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. The West Virginia Coal Association, the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia and Alpha Metallurgical Resources are also parties to the suit.
“This law is unconstitutional, and I am proud to lead this coalition of attorneys general and brave private energy companies and industry groups in our fight to protect against this overreach,” McCuskey said in a news conference announcing the suit.
What the N.Y. law hopes to achieve
The New York Climate Superfund Act, signed into law on Dec. 26 by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, seeks to recover $75 billion from major coal, oil and gas producers over the next 25 years, in $3 billion annual increments, to help cover the cost of rebuilding from floods and other climate disasters. Funds collected through enforcement of the act would also pay for building new infrastructure to mitigate similar events in the future.
