New York Gov. Hochul's climate alarmist law will take $75 billion in reparations from energy companies for bad weather

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) ratified climate alarmist legislation Thursday that will have the state confiscate billions of dollars from American oil, gas, and coal companies as reparations for bad weather.

Critics have suggested the law will likely face legal challenges and adversely impact consumers in the meantime.

The so-called Climate Change Superfund Act, which takes for granted that anthropogenic climate change is both real and a "grave threat to the state's communities, environment, and economy," requires those energy companies that have long kept lights on and engines roaring in the state to "bear a proportionate share of the cost of infrastructure investments and other expenses necessary for comprehensive adaptation to the impacts of climate change."

The authors of the legislation were apparently keen to discount the fact that those emissions were the product of New Yorkers' collective demand and use.

Hochul, fresh off suggesting she has helped make New York City's subway system safer, said in a statement, "With nearly every record rainfall, heat wave, and coastal storm, New Yorkers are increasingly burdened with billions of dollars in health, safety, and environmental consequences due to polluters that have historically harmed our environment."

"Establishing the Climate Superfund is the latest example of my administration taking action to hold polluters responsible for the damage done to our environment and requiring major investments in infrastructure and other projects critical to protecting our communities and economy," added the Democratic governor.

New York Democrats' punitive climate alarmist scheme — which apparently treats emissions as a regional issue where blame is concerned and doesn't bother mentioning that the worst culprits, by far, will remain untouched and more competitive in China — operates "under a standard of strict liability; companies are required to pay into the fund because the use of their products caused the pollution. No finding of wrongdoing is required."

'This ill-advised decision is guaranteed to be quickly met with a host of lawsuits and legal challenges.'

The law, sponsored by state Sen. Liz Krueger — the Democratic lawmaker who recently proposed that New York and other blue states secede from the Union following President-elect Donald Trump's landslide victory — will squeeze energy companies for $3 billion every year for the next 25 years.

When calculating how much greenhouse gas emissions and therefore guilt to apportion to each company, the state will attribute 942.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide to an entity for every million pounds of coal used; 432,180 metric tons of carbon dioxide to an entity for every million barrels of crude oil used; and 53,440 metric tons of carbon dioxide to an entity for every 1 million cubic feet of fuel gases used.

Of course, the legislation leaves rooms for the bureaucrats overseeing this scheme to play around with these equivalencies.

Krueger, apparently confident the law won't backfire like her marijuana legalization efforts, stated, "New York has fired a shot that will be heard 'round the world: The companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable."

The New York State Business Council and 30 other business groups and associations asked Hochul earlier this month to veto the climate alarmist legislation, noting in a Dec. 5 letter, "This legislation is bad public policy that raises significant implementation questions and constitutional concerns."

'This ill-advised decision is guaranteed to be quickly met with a host of lawsuits and legal challenges.'

The letter noted that the wealth redistribution scheme would "result in unintended consequences and increased costs for households and businesses"; is discriminatory, "targeting only the largest fossil fuel extraction and processing firms"; and "ignores the near universal use and benefits associated with fossil fuels.

The Business Council, disappointed by Hochul's decision, said in a statement Thursday that the law "will impose 'punitive' assessments against businesses that produced fuels that were vital to the support of New York's households, businesses, and overall economy for the past several decades" and indicated further that the legislation would likely face "protracted litigation."

Justin Wilcox, the executive director of Upstate United, an advocacy coalition of New York businesses that seeks fiscally responsible policies, similarly blasted Hochul's decision to pass the law.

"Governor Hochul's decision to sign the Climate Change Superfund Act law is a misguided move that does a disservice to all New Yorkers, who already pay enough to fund the short-sighted measures linked to the [Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act]," said Wilcox. "This ill-advised decision is guaranteed to be quickly met with a host of lawsuits and legal challenges, further burdening New York taxpayers with the responsibility to foot the bill."

Steve Milloy, founder of JunkScience.com and senior policy fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, suggested that in their eagerness to punish energy companies, New York lawmakers failed to note that "there was no warming in New York" during the emissions period.

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