Washington DC - A Republican lawmaker is drafting legislation to block a wave of state and local climate-damage lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, advancing a top priority of the oil and gas industry.

Representative Harriet Hageman announced the effort during a hearing on Wednesday, following a letter last year from a group of attorneys general from conservative-led states urging the creation of a federal "liability shield" similar to the one Congress granted gunmakers in 2005.

Hageman also targeted so-called climate "superfund" laws, enacted in New York and Vermont and under consideration in other states, which require fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate-related damages tied to the destabilization of the global climate system.

"Clearly, this is an area in which Congress has a role to play," Hageman, of the oil-rich western state of Wyoming, told Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Zohran Mamdani New York City social services commissioner resigns as Zohran Mamdani set to name replacement

"To that end, I'm working with my colleagues in both the House and Senate to craft legislation tackling both these state laws and the lawsuits that could destroy energy affordability for consumers."

Dozens of cases modeled on successful actions against the tobacco industry in the 1990s are playing out in state and local courts – including claims of injuries, failure-to-warn, and even racketeering, meaning acting like a criminal enterprise.

Michigan last month sued oil majors in federal court, alleging they had acted as a cartel in an unlawful conspiracy by preventing meaningful competition from renewable energy.

Environmental advocates see such lawsuits as a crucial means for climate accountability, as President Donald Trump's second term has seen the US go all-in to boost fossil fuels and block renewables.

Some cases have been dismissed, and none have yet gone to trial – though crucially, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to intervene and block them.