Ten Democratic governors, including Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gavin Newsom of California, and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, are urging Congress to reject the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026. They contend that the legislation would shield oil and gas companies from climate-related lawsuits, shifting the financial burden of pollution to taxpayers.
In a letter to Congress, the governors stated that communities across the nation, regardless of political affiliation, have faced significant costs from increasingly destructive fires, floods, storms, and heat waves, which scientists link to the burning of fossil fuels. The governors and a coalition of Democratic attorneys general argue that the act would grant immunity to the energy industry at public expense. Republicans, however, maintain the bill is necessary to protect American energy producers from lawsuits that could lead to job losses and increased energy costs.
The Stop Climate Shakedowns Act was introduced by Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Representative Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., in April. If passed, the act would nullify over a dozen lawsuits filed by local and state governments against the oil and gas industry. Critics of these lawsuits, such as Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, describe them as a "coordinated legal campaign to bankrupt lawful American energy producers through junk litigation." He added that these companies are being targeted retroactively for legally producing energy essential to the economy.
Michael Toth, research director at the Civitas Institute, stated that activists are using lawsuits to impose a global carbon tax through the courts, bypassing federal legislative authority and potentially impacting national security. California Governor Gavin Newsom has been a vocal proponent of holding fossil fuel companies accountable, suing several major oil companies in 2023. Newsom asserted on X that these companies knew about the risks of fossil fuels, suppressed data, and cast doubt on climate science, and should now pay for the consequences.
This pushback from Democratic leaders comes as the Supreme Court is set to hear a case this fall involving ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy, brought by officials in Boulder, Colorado. The case will determine whether federal law supersedes local authority to seek damages for alleged climate impacts in state courts. Boulder sued the energy companies in 2018, alleging they contributed to climate change and misrepresented its risks.
More than 70 House Republicans have also urged the Supreme Court to reject the lawsuit, calling it a "war on American energy" that would harm families. O.H. Skinner, Executive Director of the Alliance for Consumers, criticized what he termed "climate lawfare," arguing that it allows "left-wing activists" to advance "unpopular political beliefs through the courts" and ultimately increases costs for consumers.