Author
Rachel Rothschild, Jonathan Binder, Elena Mihaly, Justin Mankin, Ben Lippard, and Mary Wood
Author Bios (long)
Rachel Rothschild (moderator) is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. Jonathan Binder was formerly Deputy Commissioner for Climate Change, Air Resources, and Energy at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Elena Mihaly is Vice President of the Conservation Law Foundation in Vermont. Justin Mankin is an Associate Professor at Dartmouth and Director of the Climate Modeling and Impacts Group. Ben Lippard is a Partner at Vinson & Elkins. Mary Wood is the Philip H. Knight Professor at the University of Oregon School of Law.
Summary
There has been an influx of “climate superfund” bills introduced and adopted in state legislatures across the country. Modeled after the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), these laws are designed to recover costs from large emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to pay for climate adaptation infrastructure. Following CERCLA’s strict liability framework, major polluters in New York and Vermont would be required to pay into state-managed funds in proportion to their shares of total GHG emissions; California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon have proposed similar bills. On March 19, 2025, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts to discuss state climate superfund bills generally and the nuances of the Vermont and New York laws. Here, we present a transcript of that discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.
