Energy

Louisiana Climate Lawfare Bill Weakened By Activist Amendment At Last Minute

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Louisiana State Senate passed an amendment to the proposed Louisiana Energy Protection Act maintaining a climate litigation carveout Wednesday.

House Bill 804 aims to create the Louisiana Energy Protection Act, preempting litigation based on alleged climate-change-related liabilities and damages. Similar climate liability shield bills have passed in Utah and Iowa.

“HB 804 was designed to address climate change litigation and protect Louisiana from broad, policy-driven lawsuits that attempt to regulate industry through the courts. The amendments carving out coastal lawsuits were unnecessary and weaken the purpose of the bill,” Louisiana Motor Truck Association Executive Director Renee Amar told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“While those lawsuits may target oil and gas today, the same legal theories and litigation strategies can easily be turned against trucking, transportation, logistics, construction, agriculture, and other essential industries tomorrow,” Amar added. “Louisiana should not create special exceptions that preserve lawsuit-driven attacks on one sector while claiming to improve the state’s legal climate.”

Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and bill author Republican State Rep. Brett Geymann did not respond to requests for comment from the DCNF. Louisiana Progress and the Sierra Club also did not respond to requests for comment.

HB 804 passed the Louisiana House 83 to 17 on May 15, aiming to shield energy companies from disruptive lawsuits that allege greenhouse gas emissions harms. The bill also seeks to create legal certainty for businesses operating in the state.

Louisiana is a critical energy hub, ranking second in natural gas production and managing 60% of U.S. natural gas exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The state has the second-most refineries in the country after Texas, with 15 facilities producing over 3 million barrels per day.

The Senate amendment protects over 40 current coastal erosion lawsuits from HB 804’s preemption. The lawsuits allege that Chevron and other energy companies degraded Louisiana’s wetlands as part of their regular operations, violating the Louisiana State and Local Coastal

Louisiana’s regular legislative session ends June 1 and does not resume until April 2027. Present and future coastal erosion lawsuits will enjoy special protection should the bill pass as currently amended.

The U.S. Supreme Court in April ruled in favor of oil companies removing lawsuits against them over World War II contract activities to federal court. Involved trial lawyers fought to keep these suits in state courts, the DCNF previously reported.

Despite aligning himself with President Trump’s energy dominance agenda, Landry has long supported litigation against oil and gas companies. As Louisiana Attorney General, Landry signed a joint prosecution agreement with trial lawyer John Carmouche. This agreement made the state a co-plaintiff on many of the over 40 lawsuits.

“Parties are just ‘words away’ from a deal that will ‘unlock hundreds of millions of dollars’ for coastal restoration projects,” Landry said in March, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.

Senior Partner and Firm Manager at Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello, Carmouche is a key player in the state-backed environmental litigation campaign.

“As the firm’s lead trial attorney, his fight against global oil companies to restore the coast of Louisiana has positioned Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello as one of the top plaintiffs’ law firms in Louisiana,” the firm’s website reads. “Under John’s leadership, the firm has built a reputation for excellence in complex environmental and energy disputes, including Legacy litigation and our coastal litigation cases.”

Carmouche’s partner Vincent L. Marcello testified in support of the Senate amendment on May 14.

We’d like to see amended into the bill language that the case may relate to climate change or greenhouse gas emissions. I think you could still achieve what you want to achieve with the bulk of this legislation,” former Louisiana Progress Policy Director Merrilee Montgomery, representing the Sierra Club, also testified supporting the amendment.

“A strong business climate requires consistency, fairness, and clear limits on litigation abuse,” Amar told the DCNF. “HB 804 should remain focused on stopping climate-related lawsuits from becoming a tool to punish productive industries and drive up costs across Louisiana’s economy.”