The state of Vermont has asked a court to dismiss a trio of challenges to its landmark climate law, arguing that the Trump administration and other critics have their facts wrong.
In a brief filed Friday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, the state said the 2024 law that seeks to charge fees to fossil fuel producers to pay for the costs of climate change “does not conflict with federal law or policy, regulate fossil fuel emissions, or punish fossil fuel producers.”
Instead, the state argued that the Climate Superfund Act is a “valid exercise of Vermont’s traditional authority to raise revenue, protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens, and mitigate environmental harms inside its borders.”
The defense comes as the state’s law — which resembles the “polluter pays” model of the federal Superfund program — has been replicated in New York state. Both laws have faced a barrage of legal challenges, including lawsuits filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, as well as 24 Republican-led states.
