Hochul signs bill that will charge energy companies $75 million, but critics say customers will actually pay the tab

today New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act, which will bill oil and gas companies about $75 billion over the next 25 years. The controversial measure, sponsored by Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, is based on federal and state Superfund laws, which charge companies accused of pollution.

While environmental groups heralded the legislation, business groups argued that it will increase the cost of doing business in the state and that consumers will ultimately bear the brunt of higher energy prices.

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“The Climate Change Superfund Act is now law,” he said Senator Krueger. “Too often over the past decade, courts have dismissed lawsuits against the oil and gas industry saying the issue of climate culpability should be decided by legislatures. Well, the New York State Legislature , the world’s 10th largest economy – has accepted the invitation, and I hope we’ve made it abundantly clear: the planet’s major climate polluters have sole responsibility for creating the climate crisis and must pay their share. just to help ordinary New Yorkers deal with the consequences.”

However, critics have called the bill impractical and say it will be subject to protracted legal challenges.

“What would you like them to do? Not sell fuel in New York state,” said Ken Pokalsky, vice president of the New York State Business Council.

A group of business and industry leaders also criticized the move: “This legislation is bad public policy that raises significant enforcement questions and constitutional concerns. Moreover, its $75 billion price tag will have unintended consequences and an increase in costs for households and businesses.”

However, Governor Hochul heralded the legislation as a victory for the citizens of the state, stating that the funds will be used for climate mitigation efforts.

“This bill would allow the state to recover $75 billion from top polluters…For too long New Yorkers have borne the costs of the climate crisis, which is affecting every part of the state.”

The bill will result in significant valuations for domestic and foreign energy producers, with Saudi Aramco’s Saudi Arabia will likely face the largest charge of $640 million a year, while Mexican state-owned company Pemex will have an annual charge of $193 million.

Russia’s Lukoil likely faces charges of about $100 million a year.

Assessments are based on estimated annual CO2 emissions, measured in millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases.

In total, 38 companies deemed carbon polluters will be on the hook, including US oil giants Exxon and Chevron, the UK’s Shell and BP and Brazil’s Petrobras.

Critics of the legislation have also pointed to the potential difficulty in collecting stipulated valuations of foreign companies.

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The bill also concerns consumer advocacy groups in light of its implementation alongside other new measures that could greatly affect travelers and consumers:

“We also note that this move would come after the reset of congestion pricing in New York City, and before the Department of the Environment’s pending ‘cap-and-trade’ rule, which combined will also impose billions of dollars in new assessments on fossil fuel use, affecting a wide range of consumers,” said opponents of the project.