Today New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act, which will tax oil and gas companies an estimated $75 billion over the next 25 years. The controversial measures, sponsored by Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, are based on federal and state laws that prosecute companies accused of polluting.
Although environmental groups have announced this law, business groups argued that it will increase the cost of doing business in the state and that consumers will end up bearing the brunt of high energy prices.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO GAS PRICES IF BIDEN GETS NEW FREE RUSSIAN ENERGY TAXES?
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The Climate Change Superfund Act is now law,” he said Senator Krueger. “Often in the last decade, the courts have dismissed cases against the oil and gas industry saying that the issue of climate liability should be decided by the courts of law. – he accepted the invitation, and I ts Let's be clear: the world's biggest polluters are uniquely responsible for the climate crisis, and they must pay their fair share. to help the regular people of New York to deal with the consequences.”
However, critics have deemed the bill ineffective and say it will face long-term legal challenges.
“What would you want them to do,” says Ken Pokalsky, vice president of the New York State Chamber of Commerce.
New York State Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan. (Getty)
A group of business and industry leaders also criticized the measure: “This law is bad public policy that raises significant enforcement questions and constitutional problems. In addition, its cost of $75 billion will result in unintended consequences and increased costs for families and businesses.”
However, Gov. Hochul declared the law a victory for the country's citizens, stating that the funds will be used for climate mitigation efforts.
“This bill would allow the state to recover $75 billion from major polluters…
The bill will result in significant checks for domestic and foreign energy producers, including Saudi Aramco Saudi Arabia could face the biggest fine of $640 million a year, while Mexico's state-owned firm Pemex will be looking at an annual fine of $193 million.
Russia's Lukoil may face lawsuits worth up to $100 million a year.
The analyzes are based on estimated annual CO2 emissions, measured in millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases.
In total, 38 firms deemed to be carbon polluters will be on the hook, including US oil giants Exxon and Chevron, the UK's Shell and BP, and Brazil's Petrobras.
Legal analysts have also noted the potential difficulty of collecting said audits from foreign firms.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The bill also concerns consumer advocacy groups regarding its implementation as well as other new measures that significantly affect passengers and consumers:
“We also note that this move will come after the reinstatement of congestion pricing in New York City, and before the Department of the Environment's pending “cap and invest'' legislation, which combined would put billions of dollars in new fossil fuel consumption, which affects many consumers,” said opponents of the bills.