Vermont is first state to pass law requiring Big Oil to pay for climate change damage

Vermont this week became the first U.S. state to pass a law that requires oil and gas companies to pay for climate change-related damage caused by their emissions, a move that is sure to prompt legal challenges from the energy industry.

Gov. Phil Scott allowed the bill to become law without his signature late Thursday, citing concerns about the costs and outcome of the small state taking on “Big Oil” alone in a long and expensive fight.

“With just $600,000 appropriated by the Legislature to complete an analysis that will need to withstand intense legal scrutiny from a well-funded defense, we are not positioning ourselves for success,” Scott said in a letter to state lawmakers.

But “I understand the desire to seek funding to mitigate the effects of climate change that has hurt our state in so many ways,” the governor wrote.

The American Petroleum Institute has said it is “extremely concerned that the [law] retroactively imposes costs and liability on prior activities that were legal, violates equal protection and due process rights by holding companies responsible for the actions of society at large; and is pre-empted by federal law.”

New York, California, Massachusetts and Maryland are considering similar legislation.

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