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ARTICLE · 24 SEPTEMBER 2026

Federal Court Invalidates New York Climate Change Superfund Act

K&L Gates
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A federal court has struck down New York's ambitious Climate Change Superfund Act, which sought to recover $75 billion from fossil fuel companies for climate adaptation projects. The ruling addresses whether states can impose liability on energy producers for greenhouse gas emissions and establishes important precedent for similar legislative efforts nationwide. The decision raises critical questions about the balance between state authority and federal preemption in climate policy.

United StatesEnvironment
B. David Naidu
B. David Naidu
David L Rieser
David L Rieser
Emily M. Poniatowski
Emily M. Poniatowski

On 31 August 2026, the US District Court for the Northern District of New York (the Court) invalidated New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act (the Act), blocking the State’s planned US$75 billion cost-recovery program. The Act was among the nation’s most prominent “polluter pays” climate laws, designed to require certain fossil fuel producers and refiners to fund climate adaptation and resilience projects. The Act, enacted in December 2024, established a cost recovery program intended to fund infrastructure and other projects designed to address the impacts of climate change in New York. The Act authorized the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess liability against certain fossil fuel producers and refiners based on greenhouse gas emissions attributable to their worldwide fossil fuel extraction and refining activities during the 2000–2024 period. The statute sought to recover a total of US$75 billion from entities determined to be responsible for more than

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