Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) is moving to halt a wave of climate-related lawsuits against energy companies, announcing new legislation designed to preemptively block states and communities from seeking damages related to what she referred to as “so-called” climate change.
“You’ve got states and local communities who are trying to tax our energy companies out of existence. So I’ve got the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act, the very purpose of which is just to block these types of lawsuits from going forward,” Hageman told the Just the News, No Noise TV show on Monday.
The Stop Climate Shakedown Act of 2026 was introduced on April 17, with a release saying its goal is to “protect American energy from leftist legal crusades punishing lawful activity” by shielding American energy producers from fines and lawsuits by state legislators and environmentalists.
Contrary to the Climate Superfund laws passed in Vermont and New York that inflict multi-billion dollar penalties for past emissions that allegedly contribute to climate change, Hageman’s bill would prohibit “retroactive lawsuits,” dismiss pending lawsuits and proceedings when the bill is enacted, and void state energy penalty laws, affirming the federal government as the sole authority to regulate interstate environmental standards.
