A federal judge ruled Monday that New York cannot enforce a law that sought to force fossil fuel companies to pay for damage caused by climate change.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit challenging the state's Climate Act filed by a coalition of companies and states led by West Virginia. Brenda Sannes, chief judge of the U.S. district court for the northern district of New York, struck down the 2024 law requiring companies to pay $75 billion over 25 years.

Sannes ruled that the act is “beyond the limits of state law” and that “it is precisely because the Climate Act operates within an area of law ‘in which the federal interest is so dominant’ that it cannot be enforced,” according to The Hill.