The ability to file lawsuits related to climate change could be significantly restricted by a bill currently moving through the Louisiana Legislature, shielding energy companies and related industries from such claims.
House Bill 804, authored by Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, would create the “Louisiana Energy Protection Act.” At its core, the proposal would either bar or considerably limit lawsuits alleging that emissions contributed to climate change and caused harm, including personal injury, property damage or economic loss.
Geymann tells Daily Report that he filed the bill as a preventative measure, pointing to a growing number of climate-related lawsuits filed in other states targeting fossil fuel companies. He says Louisiana’s industrial profile makes it particularly vulnerable to similar litigation and that the bill is intended to get ahead of that trend before such cases emerge locally.
“We haven’t had one here yet, but we’ve seen them now in four states,” Geymann says. “We don’t want that to happen here, because we’re such an industrialized state.”
The bill draws a key distinction between emissions originating within Louisiana and those originating elsewhere. Claims tied to emissions originating outside the state would be prohibited entirely in Louisiana courts.
For emissions originating within Louisiana, lawsuits would still be allowed, but only under narrow circumstances. Plaintiffs would have to show that a company violated a state or federal law regulating greenhouse gas emissions or breached the terms of an applicable permit.
Even in cases that meet that threshold, the bill would impose a series of strict requirements on plaintiffs.
Those bringing claims would be required to join all parties that may have contributed to the emissions, identify specific emissions attributable to each defendant and present expert testimony establishing both fault and causation. They would also have to prove, by “clear and convincing evidence,” that damages occurred, that the defendant’s emissions caused more than 50% of those damages and that they themselves did not directly or indirectly contribute to the emissions.
Further, the measure would restrict the types of damages that can be recovered. Plaintiffs would not be able to recover for economic losses alone; claims would require accompanying physical injury or property damage.
The bill would also place new restrictions on lawsuits brought by public entities. The state, parishes and other governmental bodies would be barred from filing such claims unless they receive prior approval from the governor, the attorney general and legislative committees in both the House and Senate.
HB804 is currently pending before the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, where it awaits further consideration.
Geymann says he plans to amend the bill before it advances further but emphasizes that the changes will not alter the overall intent. Instead, the revisions will be aimed at simplifying the language and clarifying that the bill applies specifically to claims tied to climate change.
“The net effect of the bill is not going to change at all,” Geymann says. “We’re just going in and cleaning it up to make it much simpler and being more specific throughout the bill with language that says, ’This is for climate change.’”
