The Active Environmental Agendas of State Attorneys General

With the Trump administration looking to dismantle environmental protections, state attorneys general will play a critical role in protecting citizens from the harms of pollution and climate change.

Over the past 20 years, state attorneys general have evolved into important policy players on issues like smoking, opioids, social media, and climate change. As the chief lawyer for the state, they have a variety of roles, including proposing legislation and initiating suits on behalf of the state. State attorneys general can, and often do, pursue actions that support federal activity. They also fill gaps left by federal regulations, including protecting the environment on behalf of their citizens when the federal government won’t.

State attorneys general working to hold oil and gas companies accountable for the harms associated with fossil fuels is one such gap-filling activity. Attorneys general from blue states are increasingly using state law — fraud, deceptive trade practices, public nuisance, and failure to warn — as a legal strategy to recover damages from these companies for extreme weather events, like flooding and heat waves, that destroy infrastructure and threaten food security.

These so-called climate deception claims have been brought by dozens of states, as well as by cities and tribes. Vermont’s complaint, for example, alleges that Exxon Mobil and others engaged in a “campaign of deception” that misled consumers about the science of climate change and failed to disclose their knowledge that fossil fuel products caused global warming. In Vermont and elsewhere, oil and gas companies have argued that state cases are an attempt to regulate national energy policy and climate change and therefore belong in federal court. This argument was rejected by a federal district court in Vermont last year. In December 2024, with the case back in state court, a trial court denied the oil companies’ motion to dismiss, reiterating that the suit was based not on the link between fossil fuels and climate change, but on the defendants’ alleged deceptive acts. 

Oil and gas companies like Shell and Sunoco have also petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a lawsuit brought by the city and county of Honolulu and to end the growing number of “climate deception” lawsuits in state court. In May 2024, 19 Republican attorneys general joined with an amicus brief, arguing that Congress, not the states, should decide how to regulate greenhouse gases. In January, the Court denied the petition, clearing the path for the climate lawsuit to proceed in Hawaii state court. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied the 19 Republican attorneys general petition to end similar suits in California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

Having failed to stop the climate deception litigation, oil and gas companies have gotten creative. In January, Exxon Mobil sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta in federal court, alleging Bonta and environmental groups engaged in a “deliberate smear campaign” against the company. The defamation suit is in response to Bonta’s lawsuit against Exxon Mobil for false claims about plastic recycling. Republican attorneys general and legislatures are also pushing their agendas. In February, 22 Republican attorneys general sued New York over its recently enacted state law that requires fossil fuel companies to pay for climate-related damages caused by hurricanes, heatwaves, and coastal flooding, arguing that the legislation is unconstitutional because the federal law preempts any state law that addresses the harms from interstate greenhouse gas emissions. New York is the second state to enact a “climate Superfund” law after Vermont, which has also been sued.

State Republican lawmakers are also taking steps to prevent Democratic attorneys general from challenging President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Last month, a North Carolina legislator introduced a bill restricting the state’s attorney general, Democrat Jeff Jackson, from suing over presidential executive orders.

State attorneys general pursuing environmental protection policies don’t always operate in opposition to the federal government. Consider PFAS — shorthand for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances — found in everyday products such as Teflon pans, waterproof clothing, stain-resistant fabrics, and food packaging. Known as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment, PFAS are toxic, causing cancer and thyroid disease. The Environmental Protection Agency began regulating PFAS under the Trump Administration in 2020. In April 2024, the EPA announced the first enforceable levels for six types of PFAS in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act. That same month, it designated two PFAS as hazardous under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The chemical industry challenged these rules in federal court, prompting over 18 attorneys general to file amicus briefs in support.

Thirty-one states — red and blue — have also pursued litigation against the chemical manufacturers directly in state courts. These suits allege that manufacturers have knowingly deceived the public about PFAS’s harms and have sold defective and dangerous products. In North Carolina, for example, the attorney general brought at least seven actions against PFAS manufacturers over the last few years. In 2021, Ohio settled with chemical manufacturer DuPont for over $110 million to resolve claims associated with forever chemicals.

Despite bipartisan support to regulate PFAS and hold manufacturers responsible, regulation efforts that were not finalized, such as limits on PFAS discharged into waterways under the Clean Water Act, have been withdrawn by the Trump Administration, leaving their future unknown.

The fate of Biden-era climate change policies is more certain: Trump has begun revoking renewable energy policies and fast-tracking oil and gas projects. As a result, state legislation on environmental issues and state-led litigation to combat climate change will likely increase. And more than at any time in U.S. history, attorney generals on both sides are working in concert to advance or thwart the administration’s objectives. Environmental policies — especially those related to climate change — are a prime example. 

Sarah J. Morath is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for International Affairs at Wake Forest University School of Law.

Suggested Citation: Sarah J. Morath, The Active Environmental Agendas of State Attorneys General, Sᴛᴀᴛᴇ Cᴏᴜʀᴛ Rᴇᴘᴏʀᴛ (Mar. 13, 2025), https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/active-environmental-agendas-state-attorneys-general