1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose any legislation that would grant oil and gas companies immunity from lawsuits related to the climate crisis. Protecting the right of communities to hold these corporations accountable in court is essential to ensuring justice and protecting taxpayers. More than one in four Americans live in communities currently fighting in court to make oil companies pay for deliberately misleading the public about how their products fuel climate change. At least a dozen states have passed or proposed climate superfund laws designed to shift the growing cost of climate damages from taxpayers to the polluters responsible. These legal pathways represent critical tools for communities facing mounting costs from extreme weather, sea level rise, and other climate impacts. The largest oil and gas lobbying group has made shutting down these accountability measures one of their top priorities for 2026. Republican attorneys general have proposed a liability shield for fossil fuel companies modeled on the 2005 law that protects gun manufacturers from lawsuits. This approach would eliminate the ability of states and municipalities to recover costs for climate adaptation and disaster response from the companies whose products caused the damage. Granting blanket immunity to oil and gas companies would force taxpayers to shoulder billions of dollars in climate-related costs while letting profitable corporations off the hook. It would also set a dangerous precedent that corporations can knowingly cause harm, mislead the public about that harm, and then lobby for protection from the consequences. Communities deserve their day in court. I urge you to publicly oppose any legislation that would grant legal immunity to fossil fuel companies and to protect the right of states and municipalities to pursue accountability through the legal system. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for damages caused by corporations that prioritized profits over honesty and public safety.