GOP Introduces Bills to Block Climate Lawsuits Against Big Oil, Sparking Outrage

Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation to protect major oil and gas companies from legal and financial accountability for their role in the climate crisis, alarming environmental advocates and legal experts.

Two bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate—led by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.)—would grant the industry broad immunity from policies and lawsuits targeting emissions-related damages. The proposal, titled the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026, mirrors a 2005 law that largely shielded the firearms industry from lawsuits over gun violence.

Key Provisions of the Bills

• Dismiss all pending climate accountability lawsuits against oil and gas companies.
• Void existing state climate “superfund” laws, including those in New York and Vermont.
• Block future state and local efforts to hold polluters accountable for historical emissions.
• Restrict climate attribution studies, which quantify the industry’s role in extreme weather events.

“To try to legislate that science away is something that’s really alarming,” said Delta Merner, lead scientist at the science hub for climate litigation at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Legal and Political Backlash

Hageman’s office framed the bills as a response to what it calls “leftist legal crusades punishing lawful activity.” However, legal experts argue the legislation undermines state and local authority. Merner noted that Hageman’s bill asserts federal exclusivity over greenhouse gas regulation—a claim disputed by constitutional and environmental law scholars.

“The language attempts to take away the ability for local harms to be decided at the local and state level,” Merner said. Meanwhile, Cruz’s bill targets climate attribution studies, which are critical to many climate lawsuits.

“To try to legislate that science away is something that’s really alarming.”
— Delta Merner, Union of Concerned Scientists

Industry Push for Immunity

This year, the American Petroleum Institute (API), the top U.S. oil lobby, listed blocking “abusive” climate lawsuits as a top priority. Earlier in 2024, 16 Republican state attorneys general requested a “liability shield” for oil companies from the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2023, both the API and ConocoPhillips lobbied Congress to limit climate liability through draft legislation.

“The industry knows it’s vulnerable. They are not totally confident they can win cases on their merits,” said Cassidy DiPaola of the climate advocacy group Make Polluters Pay. “We’re in a period where there’s a Republican trifecta that will basically bow down to the industry, and I think they view this moment as one of their biggest opportunities to get it.”