Legislation now under consideration by the Maryland legislature, the Responding to Emergency Needs From Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act of 2025, aims to hold energy producers liable for the effects of climate change by effectively forcing them to pay reparations. Modeled on legislation passed in New York and Vermont, the RENEW Act would establish a fund, paid into by producers of fossil fuels, to fund climate resilience and clean energy projects. Advocates for the legislation hope to collect an astounding $9 billion dollars from energy producers to finance their programs.
Beyond the fact that the bill is likely unconstitutional, it would have a disastrous effect on Maryland families and businesses if implemented — leading directly to higher prices on the energy we use every day. This is unacceptable, especially given that there are much more practical solutions at policymakers’ disposal to address environmental issues. Maryland’s state legislators should vote “no” on this disastrous bill for three main reasons.
First, the bill is likely in conflict with federal law and Supreme Court precedent. RENEW would apply costs and liability to energy producers retroactively — all the way back to March 1994 — which likely violates both equal protection and due process rights under the Constitution. It also likely violates the excessive fines and takings clauses of the Constitution, which prohibit imposing massive penalties on individual companies that should be shared across a wider range of stakeholders. The Supreme Court has previously acknowledged greenhouse gas emissions are a global phenomenon and therefore are subject to regulation under federal, not state, law — particularly under the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Maryland’s own Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Videtta Brown recently affirmed this precedent in dismissing Baltimore’s recent legal activist case trying to similarly penalize energy producers under state law.
