A federal judge blocked New York\u2019s climate superfund law, ruling in favor of red states and business groups by saying the policy goes beyond what the state can do.<\/p>\n
Chief Judge Brenda Sannes of the US District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled Monday that a federal appellate court\u2019s decision in City of New York v. Chevron Corp.<\/a> is relevant in the case, contrary to New York\u2019s earlier arguments. Sannes also said in her ruling that the Clean Air Act doesn\u2019t authorize New York\u2019s law, thereby preempting it, and also said the Foreign Affairs Doctrine would preempt \u201cany cost recovery demand against a foreign producer.\u201d<\/p>\n In a July hearing, Sannes had indicated the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit\u2019s decision in City of New York<\/a>, in which a panel threw out a nuisance lawsuit against polluters, was relevant to the case. Red states, the US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups sued New York<\/a> in early 2025 alleging federal law preempts the policy New York passed the year prior to make large polluters pay the state a collective $75 billion for past emissions.<\/p>\n \u201cCity of New York makes clear that the Climate Act operates in an area where federal law has governed for \u201cover a century,\u201d in \u201ca mostly unbroken string of cases[.],\u201d Sannes said in her order, adding later that \u201cit is precisely because the Climate Act operates within an area of law \u201cin which the federal interest is so dominant\u201d that it cannot be enforced.\u201d<\/p>\n The outcome of the case marks a big moment in testing these types of laws in the courts. New York and<\/a> Vermont<\/a> both enacted what have become known as climate superfund laws around the same time in 2024 and were quickly sued over their policies. Other liberal-leaning states have since tried to follow their lead but have yet to advance similar legislation over the finish line<\/a>, in part hurt by the lawsuits that could determine the laws\u2019 viability.<\/p>\n