BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF [STATE]:  
 

Section 1. Short title  

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “Energy Producers and Consumers Protection Act.” 

Section 2. Legislative Findings And Declarations 

The Legislature finds and declares as follows: 

1. Greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and other lawful economic activities are regulated comprehensively under federal law, including the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., as amended, and under state law through the permit and regulatory system administered by the [State Environmental Agency].  
2. Persons and businesses that operate in compliance with applicable federal and state environmental laws, regulations, and permit requirements should not be exposed to open-ended civil or criminal liability for the global atmospheric effects of their lawful emissions.  
3. Climate change litigation attempts to use state tort law — including public nuisance, private nuisance, trespass, negligence, and products liability — to impose liability for diffuse, global atmospheric effects that cannot be causally attributed to any individual emitter with scientific or legal certainty.  
4. The attribution of specific local harm to a specific emitter’s greenhouse gas emissions requires causal claims that are scientifically speculative and legally insufficient to support individual liability under established tort principles, including the requirements of specific causation, proximate cause, and identifiable, non-speculative damages.  
5. The global nature of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions makes it scientifically impossible to attribute specific climate impacts to any individual emitter or any individual state’s emissions. The total covered emissions of any person or business operating within this state represent a negligible fraction of annual global emissions, including the emissions of major emitting nations whose emissions dwarf those of the entire United States.  
6. Climate change liability litigation imposes substantial legal costs on farmers, ranchers, energy producers, manufacturers, utilities, and small businesses operating within this state, threatening the state’s agricultural economy, energy security, and the livelihoods of the workers and communities those industries support.  
7. Persons engaged in lawful fossil fuel activities, agricultural operations, manufacturing, and energy production have an affirmative right to engage in those activities free from speculative litigation that uses the courts to achieve regulatory outcomes that were not enacted through the democratic process.  
8. Several states have enacted or are pursuing ‘climate superfund’ laws that retroactively impose financial liability on energy producers for the costs of climate-related damages — a form of retroactive punishment for lawful conduct that is unconstitutional under federal and state due process principles and a threat to energy security and affordability.  
9. It is the policy of this state to protect the right to engage in lawful energy, agricultural, and industrial activities, and to shield persons and businesses operating in compliance with applicable environmental permits and regulations from speculative climate change liability claims, while fully preserving the right of any person to seek redress for specific, identifiable harm caused by a proven violation of applicable law. 

Section 3. Definitions  

As used in this Act:   

1. “Agricultural operation” means any location, facility, or activity at which a farm commodity is produced, raised, grown, harvested, handled, stored, processed, manufactured, or distributed, including without limitation cropland, pastureland, ranching operations, confined animal feeding operations, dairy operations, poultry operations, aquaculture facilities, ethanol production facilities, biodiesel facilities, grain elevators, feed mills, and food processing plants.  
2. “Annual emissions baseline” means the highest total CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of China and India combined for at least one calendar year or twelve-month period in the preceding five years, computed based on generally available data regarding actual or estimated country-level emissions. The annual emissions baseline is incorporated as a reference point for evaluating the materiality and causation of any individual emitter’s covered emissions relative to global emission levels. 
3. “Climate change claim” means any civil or criminal claim, cause of action, complaint, petition, suit, or proceeding — including any claim sounding in public nuisance, private nuisance, trespass, negligence, strict liability, products liability, fraud, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, restitution, or any other legal or equitable theory — that seeks damages, injunctive relief, civil penalties, disgorgement, restitution, or any other remedy, arising from or based on, in whole or in part, the alleged effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the global or regional climate, weather patterns, or related phenomena.  
4. “Climate superfund action” means any law, regulation, rule, order, program, or legal proceeding by which a governmental entity seeks to impose financial liability, assessments, fees, charges, or any monetary obligation on any covered person based on the quantity or cumulative historical total of that person’s greenhouse gas emissions, for purposes related to climate change costs, adaptation, mitigation, or response — including programs modeled on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).  
5. “Covered activities” means the exploration, production, transportation, storage, sale, manufacturing, refining, combustion, distribution, or other use of any fossil fuel or petroleum product in this state by any covered person, and any agricultural operation in this state, and any manufacturing, generating, or industrial activity in this state that produces covered emissions in the course of lawful operations.  
6. “Covered emissions” means the emission of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, or any other greenhouse gas into the atmosphere resulting, directly or indirectly, from covered activities.  
7. “Covered person” means any individual, sole proprietor, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, cooperative, trust, association, trade association, industry organization, or any other legal entity that engages in any covered activity. The term includes any officer, director, employee, contractor, or agent of the foregoing acting within the scope of their duties.  
8. “Covered government” means any other state, any government agency of another state, or any local government in this state or another state.  
9. “Greenhouse gas” means carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), and any other gas designated as a greenhouse gas under applicable federal or state environmental law.  
10. “In-jurisdiction products” means (a) for a covered government bringing a claim, only the specific fossil fuel products that were actually shipped, or incorporated into products that were actually shipped, into the territorial boundaries of the state where the covered government is located; and (b) for a private party bringing a claim, only the specific fossil fuel products that were actually shipped, or incorporated into products that were actually shipped, into the territorial boundaries of the state in which the private party resided at the time of the events at issue. 
11. “Liability” means any legally enforceable obligation to pay money or other thing of value, including without limitation monetary damages, fines, penalties, disgorgement, restitution, remediation or abatement costs, equitable relief that requires the expenditure of money, attorneys’ fees, taxes, excises, levies, imposts, duties, or surcharges.   

Section 4. Right To Engage in Covered Activities      

• (a) AFFIRMATIVE RIGHT. It is the public policy of this state that persons have the right to engage in, and to invest in companies that engage in, covered activities. This right is a substantive right protected by this Act, and no court of this state may grant injunctive relief, and the amount of liability shall be zero dollars, for covered emissions resulting directly or indirectly from covered activities occurring at any time, unless such covered activities are proven to be in violation of the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., as amended, or another specific federal environmental law, in which case liability shall be based solely on federal law.
• (b) PURPOSE. The purpose of this Section is to protect the substantive right to engage in covered activities and to prevent the use of state courts to discriminate against or penalize the exercise of that right. Courts and covered governments that fail to give full faith and credit to this Act, or to records or judicial proceedings pursuant to this Act, violate the protections of the United States Constitution and federal law, engage in unlawful discrimination, and inflict sovereign injury on this state and its citizens.  
• (c) RETROACTIVE AND EXTRATERRITORIAL APPLICATION. It is the intent of the Legislature that this Act applies retroactively to covered emissions and covered activities occurring at any time before or after the effective date of this Act, and extraterritorially to covered persons and covered activities to the fullest extent permitted by the United States Constitution.  
• (d) IN-JURISDICTION LIMITATION. Except where required by federal law, no covered government or private party may bring a climate change claim in any forum, or otherwise impose or seek to impose any liability, in connection with covered emissions, unless any liability claimed or calculated is based solely on in-jurisdiction products. 

Section 5. Liability Shield — General Protection       

• (a) IMMUNITY FROM CLIMATE CHANGE CLAIMS. Except as provided in Section 6, no climate change claim may be brought, maintained, or prosecuted in any court of this state against a covered person arising from or based on that covered person’s covered emissions.  
• (b)  SCOPE. The immunity provided by this Section applies to: 
  1. All civil claims, including claims sounding in public nuisance, private nuisance, trespass, negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, strict liability, products liability, failure to warn, fraud, fraudulent concealment, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, restitution, and any other legal or equitable theory;  
  2. All criminal charges, indictments, or prosecutions based on or arising from the covered person’s covered emissions;  
  3. All administrative proceedings seeking to impose individual liability on a covered person for climate-related harm; and  
  4. All claims brought by any person, including private plaintiffs, governmental entities, and attorneys general of any state or political subdivision. 
• (c) ZERO LIABILITY FLOOR. Consistent with Section 4(a), the amount of liability for covered emissions is zero dollars unless the exception in Section 6 is established. No court of this state may enter any judgment, order, or award imposing liability in any amount for covered emissions unless the plaintiff has met the burden of proof set forth in Section 6.  
• (d) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF PROHIBITED. No court of this state may grant injunctive relief of any kind — including temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, or permanent injunctions — requiring any covered person to reduce, offset, cease, or modify covered emissions, except as required to remedy a proven specific violation of the federal Clean Air Act or another specific federal environmental law as provided in Section 6.  
• (e) RETROACTIVE DISMISSAL. Any climate change claim pending in any court of this state on the effective date of this Act shall be dismissed without prejudice within thirty (30) days of the effective date, unless the plaintiff files an amended complaint within that period that specifically pleads facts sufficient to satisfy the exception standard in Section 6. 

Section 6. Exception — Specific Federal Violations      

• (a) NARROW EXCEPTION. Notwithstanding Sections 4 and 5, a climate change claim may proceed in a court of this state only if the plaintiff establishes all of the following by clear and convincing evidence:   
  1. SPECIFIC FEDERAL VIOLATION: The covered person violated a specific, identified provision of the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., as amended, or another specific federal environmental law governing greenhouse gas emissions, that was in effect at the time of the alleged violation;  
  2. DIRECT CAUSATION: The specific federal violation identified in paragraph (1) — and not the covered person’s lawful emissions taken as a whole — was the direct, proximate, and but-for cause of the specific, identifiable damage or injury alleged by the plaintiff, without reference to global, regional, or aggregate climate effects;  
  3.  IN-JURISDICTION NEXUS: The liability claimed is based solely on in-jurisdiction products, as defined in Section 3;  
  4. IDENTIFIABLE HARM: The plaintiff suffered unavoidable, identifiable, and quantifiable damage or injury that is distinct from generalized climate change effects experienced by the public generally and from weather phenomena not specifically attributable to the alleged violation; and  
  5. MATERIALITY RELATIVE TO BASELINE: The covered person’s covered emissions for the relevant period exceed ten percent (10%) of the annual emissions baseline for that period. It is an irrebuttable presumption that covered emissions in this state are not a material contributing cause of any alleged climate harm if those emissions are less than ten percent of the annual emissions baseline times the number of years corresponding to the identified period. 
• (b) BURDEN OF PROOF. The burden of establishing each element of the exception in subsection (a) rests exclusively with the plaintiff and does not shift to the covered person at any stage of the proceeding.  
• (c) PLEADING STANDARD. A complaint asserting a climate change claim must plead specific facts sufficient to establish a plausible basis for each element of the exception in subsection (a) with particularity, including identification of the specific provision of federal law allegedly violated, the specific conduct constituting the violation, and the specific, non-speculative injury directly caused by that violation. A complaint relying on generalized allegations of climate harm, global temperature increases, sea level rise, or aggregate industry emissions shall be dismissed on the pleadings.  
• (d) NO AGGREGATE CLAIMS. No climate change claim may be maintained on the basis of aggregate or cumulative emissions from multiple covered persons, multiple industries, or multiple time periods. Each claim must be based on a specific, identified federal violation by a specific, identified covered person. 

Section 7. Prohibition On Climate Superfund Actions      

• (a) STATE PROHIBITION. No governmental entity of this state may enact, enforce, or administer any climate superfund law, regulation, rule, program, or proceeding that imposes financial liability, assessments, fees, or any monetary obligation on any covered person based on the quantity or historical total of that covered person’s greenhouse gas emissions.  
• (b) LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROHIBITION. No local governmental entity — including any county, municipality, school district, university, special district, or other political subdivision — may enact, enforce, administer, or participate in any climate superfund action.  
• (c) VOID AB INITIO. Any climate superfund law, ordinance, regulation, rule, or program enacted or administered in violation of this Section is void and of no legal effect from the date of its enactment. Any existing program is void as of the effective date of this Act. 

Section 8. Prohibition On Intergovernmental Climate Suits      

• (a) NO GOVERNMENTAL CLIMATE CHANGE CLAIMS. No governmental entity of this state may file, pursue, fund, or intervene in any climate change claim against any covered person in any court of this state or any other state, including any parens patriae action or any claim seeking damages for climate-related costs incurred by the governmental entity.  
• (b) EXCEPTION. Subsection (a) does not prohibit a governmental entity from enforcing specific federal or state environmental law violations through administrative or judicial enforcement mechanisms, or from seeking damages as provided in Section 6. 

Section 9. Declaratory Record Mechanism      

• (a) RIGHT TO SEEK DECLARATORY RECORD. Any covered person may seek declaratory relief in [the appropriate court] to finally and conclusively establish a definitive, certified record of that covered person’s covered emissions in this state for any identified time period, from any or all of the following categories:  
  1. All direct emissions from sources owned or directly controlled by the covered person, regardless of location, including fuel combustion activities;  
  2. All indirect emissions from consumed electricity, steam, heating, or cooling purchased or acquired by the covered person, regardless of location; and  
  3. All other indirect upstream and downstream emissions from sources not owned or directly controlled by the covered person, including purchased goods and services, transportation, and processing and use of sold products. 
• (b) IRREBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION OF NON-MATERIALITY. In any proceeding under this Section, the court shall apply the irrebuttable presumption that a covered person’s covered emissions in this state for an identified time period are not a material contributing cause of any alleged climate harm if the covered person provides a declaration, supported by reasonable inquiry, that its covered emissions for that time period are less than ten percent (10%) of the annual emissions baseline multiplied by the number of years (including fractions of a year) in the identified time period.  
• (c) COURT PROCEDURE. In an action under this Section: 
  1. The [State Department of Environmental Quality or designated agency] shall be named as the defendant and, after service, shall publish notice of the action on its public website, which shall constitute service by publication to all interested parties;  
  2. The court shall advance the action and render its decision no later than sixty (60) days after the action is commenced;  
  3. The court shall not award costs or fees to any party; and  
  4. Only the covered person that seeks the declaration may appeal the court’s determination. 
• (d) EFFECT OF DECLARATORY RECORD. A declaration under this Section is a permanent and definitive certified record of the covered person’s emissions over the identified time period, final and valid for all purposes and as to all persons in all courts of this state. It shall be given full faith and credit by all courts and governmental entities. Where federal law requires reporting using a different methodology, the declaration shall be final and valid for all other purposes.  
• (e) THIRD-PARTY VERIFICATION. If the covered person’s emissions calculation has been verified by an independent third-party verifier or third-party assurance provider, the court’s declaration shall so find, and the declaration shall carry a presumption of accuracy in any subsequent proceeding in any court.  

Section 10. Enforcement — Right to Engage      

• (a) PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT. Any covered person aggrieved by a violation of this Act, and the Attorney General, may each commence an action, intervene, or otherwise assert a claim for:   
  1.  Declaratory and injunctive relief against any person or governmental entity violating this Act;  
  2. Nominal damages;  
  3. A civil fine of not more than [one thousand dollars ($1,000)] per violation; and  
  4. Any other appropriate relief. 
• (b)  FULL FAITH AND CREDIT ENFORCEMENT. Any covered person or the Attorney General may enforce this Act against any covered government or court that fails or refuses to give full faith and credit to a declaration or judicial proceeding under this Act, by commencing an action for declaratory and injunctive relief, nominal damages, and such other appropriate relief as the court may order. 
• (c)  ATTORNEY GENERAL INTERVENTION. The Attorney General may intervene in any climate change claim pending in any court — state or federal — in which a covered person is named as a defendant, to enforce the protections of this Act. 

Section 11. Sanctions For Bad-faith Climate Litigation      

• (a) MANDATORY DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE. Any climate change claim that does not satisfy the exception standard in Section 6 shall be dismissed with prejudice upon motion of any covered person defendant.  
• (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS. A covered person who prevails in obtaining dismissal of a climate change claim under this Act is entitled to recover from the plaintiff all reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs incurred in defending the claim from the date of filing through dismissal.  
• (c) SANCTIONS FOR FRIVOLOUS CLAIMS. If the court determines that a climate change claim was filed without a reasonable basis in fact or law, or was filed primarily for purposes of harassment, delay, or coercion, the court shall impose sanctions under the applicable rules of civil procedure and may additionally impose: 
  1.  A civil penalty of not less than [five thousand dollars ($5,000)] and not more than [fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)] per claim; and  
  2. A two-year prohibition on filing further climate change claims by the same plaintiff or plaintiff’s counsel in any court of this state. 
• (d) THIRD-PARTY FUNDER DISCLOSURE. Any plaintiff in a climate change claim that is funded in whole or in part by a third-party litigation funder — including any nonprofit organization, governmental entity of another state, foundation, investment fund, or other entity — must disclose the identity and financial interest of all third-party funders within thirty (30) days of filing. Failure to disclose constitutes grounds for additional sanctions and shall be considered evidence of bad faith.   

Section 12. Preservation Of Legitimate Environmental Claims      

• (a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to:   
  1. Limit any claim for nuisance, trespass, negligence, or other tort based on specific, localized pollution or environmental harm directly attributable to a specific act of the defendant that does not require attribution of harm to global or regional greenhouse gas effects;  
  2. Limit any administrative enforcement action or judicial proceeding brought by a federal or state regulatory agency for violation of applicable environmental law or permit conditions;  
  3. Limit the rights of any person to seek workers’ compensation, occupational health and safety remedies, or personal injury damages for specific, non-climate-related harms; or  
  4. Affect the rights of any person under the federal Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or CERCLA. 

Section 13. Severability  

If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications which can be given effect without the invalid provision, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable. If the extraterritorial application provisions are held invalid, they shall be severed without affecting the domestic application of this Act.  

Section 14. Effective Date   

Sections 4, 5, and 9 (right to engage, liability shield, and declaratory record mechanism) take effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature and apply retroactively to all covered emissions and covered activities occurring at any time. All remaining sections take effect on [EFFECTIVE DATE].