A New York state senator says he aims to hold bad actors in the fossil fuel industry accountable through a proposed bill that would allow individuals to sue companies for climate damages, according to an article from Politico. The “climate negligence” bill, introduced by Sen. Zellnor Myrie, models a Texas abortion law that creates a private cause of action for individuals.
According to the article, Myrie opposes a Texas law that allows people to sue others who “aid and abet” an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, but he notes that courts have upheld the private action option. Many lawsuits filed by states and cities against companies they say are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions are reportedly bogged down in legal red tape. Myrie says the proposed law would give New Yorkers a new legal avenue of attack.