Senate Bill 1439, which would create the Energy Security and Independence Act, was authored by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, and Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton.
Fossil fuel companies violating their permits or environmental laws are exempt from the bill’s language.
Moore said the legislation would protect the industry, which includes any company working with oil and gas, coal, natural gas liquids or refined petroleum products.
“The reality is, if you were to get that judgment, billions and billions of dollars, that's just passed on to the taxpayer — that would be passed on at the pump, that would be passed on through electricity costs, energy costs across the board would dramatically change,” he said. “There's no reason that that has any place in any court of law, but especially in Oklahoma.”
The state ranks as the sixth-largest producer of natural gas and crude oil in the nation as of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Moore said he doesn’t know of any such lawsuits being filed in Oklahoma, but other states like Colorado are seeing climate-based legal battles unfold. Boulder County and the City of Boulder sued several fossil fuel companies in 2018, alleging they contributed to climate change while concealing the dangers of their products. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
The Oklahoma Sierra Club said in a news release the legislation would place corporate profits above people’s health, safety and property rights.
“As our insurance premiums rise and we pay the price for worsening weather disasters like historic droughts, fires and floods, SB 1439 effectively closes the courthouse doors to Oklahoma taxpayers and gives giant energy corporations a free pass,” Kara Joy McKee, chapter director, said.
Both authors of the Oklahoma bill say there is no statewide quantifiable impact of climate change or greenhouse gas emissions. Yet researchers with federal agencies and other organizations have estimated the U.S. is burdened with billions of dollars each year because of climate-related damages and costs.
Until last year, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration totaled annual costs of severe weather events exacerbated by climate change. The agency estimated Oklahoma experienced between $1 and $2 billion in damages in 2024.
Still, Moore said quantifying climate effects would make regular people who consume fossil fuel products liable in lawsuits against the industry.
“ There is no way to measure any alleged damage from greenhouse gas emissions, and again, even if you were to try to quantify it and say that there was, you would have to name as a party every person in the state of Oklahoma who drives a vehicle or uses a weed eater or anything that contributes to that," he said.
Oklahoma is one of several states with legislation seeking to shield the fossil fuel industry from litigation related to the effects of climate change. In March, Utah enacted House Bill 222, which protects entities from lawsuits over greenhouse gas emissions. Louisiana is also considering a bill to protect fossil fuel companies from climate-related lawsuits.
National environmental advocates, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, say the bills are attempting to bar the fossil fuel industry’s accountability for the effects of climate change.
“Everyday taxpayers are the ones that are having to foot the bill for their destruction,” Matthew Tejada, senior vice president of environmental health for NRDC, said. “For the destruction from severe weather, from climate disasters, that is being foisted on folks who cannot afford it.”
The bill passed the Senate floor in March and is now being considered in the House.
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