Possible $75 Billion Tax on NYers at Stake as Court Hears Oral Arguments in Climate Change Superfund Case

SYRACUSE, NY (07/29/2026) (readMedia)-- On Thursday, July 30 at 1pm, the US District Court for the Northern District of NY will hear oral arguments in West Virginia v. James, one of the two pending cases on New York's Climate Change Superfund Law. The law requires the largest Big Oil companies, which earned $1.3 trillion in profits just between 2021 and 2025, to pay a combined $3 billion/year for the next 25 years to help cover New York's climate change costs. A new report from Rebuild by Design finds that New York must spend $519 billion on climate change adaptation and resilience, and those costs could balloon if the state doesn't build, adapt, and upgrade infrastructure soon. Without the Climate Change Superfund, the entirety of those costs will fall entirely on taxpayers. The Climate Superfund was enacted in 2024 as a way to offset the mounting costs to taxpayers resulting from a worsening climate.

The costs will be staggering, yet they are costs that must be paid. New York has decided that the companies most responsible for the emissions of greenhouse gases should pay their share. Thus, the Climate Superfund assesses the largest oil companies $3 billion annually for each of the next 25 years to offset these costs.

It does so in a way that ensures that the companies will not pass these costs on to the public.

Blair Horner, senior policy advisor at NYPIRG, the lead group that advocated for the Climate Change Superfund law, will attend the hearing and is available for comment virtually and in person outside the federal courthouse at 12:45. Horner can speak about the Climate Change Superfund law and how New Yorkers will be negatively impacted if it's overturned.