Hochul signed bill that would charge energy companies $75 billion in fees, but critics say customers will really foot the bill

today New York Governor Kathy Hochul The Climate Change Superfund Act was signed into law, which will levy oil and gas companies an estimated $75 billion over the next 25 years. The controversial measure, sponsored by Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, is modeled on federal and state superfund laws, which impose fees on companies accused of polluting.

While environmental groups praised the legislation, business groups claimed that it would increase the cost of doing business in the state and that consumers would ultimately bear the brunt in terms of rising 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 that the question of climate responsibility should be decided by legislatures. Well, the New York State Legislature — the 10th largest economy in the world — accepted the call, and I hope we’ve made clear Just that: The planet’s biggest climate polluters bear a unique responsibility for creating the climate crisis, and they must pay their fair share to help ordinary New Yorkers deal with the consequences.”

However, critics consider the bill impractical and assert that it will be subject to long-term legal challenges.

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

A group of business and industry leaders also criticized the measure, saying: “This legislation represents bad public policy and raises significant questions about implementation and constitutional concerns. Moreover, its $75 billion price tag will result in unintended consequences and increased costs for households and businesses.” “.

However, Governor Hochul hailed the legislation as a victory for the state’s citizens, noting that the funds would be used for climate change mitigation efforts.

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

The draft law will lead to important evaluations of local and foreign energy producers, along with Saudi Aramco Kingdom of Saudi Arabia It is likely to face the largest fees of $640 million annually, while Mexican state-owned Pemex will incur annual fees of $193 million.

The Russian company Lukoil is likely to face charges amounting to about $100 million annually.

The assessments are based on estimates of annual carbon dioxide emissions, measured in millions of tons of greenhouse gases.

In all, it will face 38 companies considered carbon polluters, including US oil giants Exxon and Chevron, the UK’s Shell and BP, and Brazil’s Petrobras.

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

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The bill also concerns consumer advocacy groups in light of its implementation alongside other new measures that will significantly impact passengers and consumers:

“We also note that this action will come on the heels of the reinstatement of congestion pricing in New York City, and ahead of the Department of Environment’s pending ‘cap and invest’ rule, which together will also impose billions of dollars in new assessments on fossils.” fuel use, affecting a wide range of consumers,” said opponents of the bill.