78 CT Orgs Urge Blumenthal to Block Big Oil Immunity
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- 78 Connecticut organizations delivered a letter to Senator Richard Blumenthal on April 7 calling on federal leaders to reject fossil fuel industry lobbying for legal immunity from state climate accountability laws and lawsuits.
- Connecticut is actively suing ExxonMobil for violating state consumer protection laws through what the state describes as an "ongoing, systematic campaign of lies and deception" about fossil fuels' role in climate change.
- State legislators have proposed a "Climate Change Superfund" requiring polluters to pay for climate damages — an accountability mechanism the letter warns could be blocked if Congress grants the fossil fuel industry federal immunity.
- Julianna Larue, Organizer for Sierra Club Connecticut, called it "unacceptable that major oil companies are pushing for legal immunity instead of taking responsibility" and urged passage of Climate Superfund legislation to shift costs from taxpayers to polluters.
- The coalition — coordinated by Sierra Club Connecticut, PACE, EV Club of CT, People for Planet and Democracy, and others — framed the letter as part of a broader multi-state effort to prevent federal action from interfering with state climate accountability initiatives.
- Senator Blumenthal is scheduled to host a statewide virtual TeleTown Hall on April 8 at 7 pm ET, where the coalition's concerns about polluter immunity are expected to feature.
Why it matters: Connecticut's pending lawsuit against ExxonMobil and its proposed Climate Superfund law are concrete accountability tools that, if allowed to proceed, could establish financial liability for fossil fuel companies in the state. Federal immunity legislation would preempt both, leaving Connecticut taxpayers — already bearing climate disaster costs, per the letter — without legal recourse against the companies the letter says caused the harm.
