Federal preemption is the only serious way to end the climate-lawsuit racket
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) today endorsed the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026, introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) with a companion measure from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
The bill bars retroactive climate liability lawsuits, dismisses pending state proceedings, voids state “climate superfund” laws, and reaffirms exclusive federal jurisdiction over greenhouse gas emissions. Vermont and New York have already enacted superfund laws, with at least nine other states considering similar proposals.
“Rep. Hageman’s bill rightly shuts down the climate-lawsuit racket: a regulation-by-litigation scheme where a handful of blue-state AGs, contingency-fee firms and third-party litigation funders try to set national energy policy in the courts.
Every dollar extracted from domestic producers in these lawsuits lands squarely on American consumers. Federal preemption is the only serious way to stop it, and we appreciate her leadership on these efforts,” said Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center.
The Cost to Consumers
CCC has long warned that the patchwork of state climate suits — bankrolled by outside financiers and pursued on contingency by plaintiff-side tort firms — functions as a backdoor regulatory regime that bypasses Congress and the EPA to impose multi-billion-dollar penalties on lawful activity, with costs flowing straight to consumers at the pump and on the power bill.
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About the Consumer Choice Center
The Consumer Choice Center is an independent, nonpartisan consumer advocacy group championing the benefits of freedom of choice, innovation, and abundance in everyday life for consumers in over 100 countries. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Brussels, Washington, Ottawa, Brasilia, London, Geneva, and more.