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On June 5, 2025, the NAM filed an amicus brief urging a New Jersey appellate court to affirm a lower court’s determination that the state’s climate change litigation against energy manufacturers—one of three dozen pending cases brought by states, cities and municipalities nationwide—is preempted by federal law. In this case, the plaintiffs assert several tort and New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act claims against energy manufacturers, seeking damages for the role that the defendants’ production, promotion and sale of fossil fuels has allegedly played in exacerbating climate change, which, in turn, the plaintiffs claim has caused harm to public and private property.

We argue that the subject matter and remedies sought through this litigation are inherently national, as well as legislative and regulatory in nature, and that such complex policy matters should not be driven by individual state judges in individual state courtrooms applying various state liability laws. Indeed, any determination that out-of-state actions give rise to liability in New Jersey would have the unconstitutional effect of regulating conduct in other states. And imposing liability here would be unconstitutionally penalizing activities and emissions in other states and countries.