Utah Legislature Sets Perilous Precedent, Grants Polluters Sweeping Legal Immunity

WASHINGTON (March 24, 2026)-Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed into law yesterday a new bill granting sweeping legal immunity to corporations and individuals for climate-related harms caused by heat-trapping emissions-regardless of the scale of pollution or its impact on communities.

The bill, which takes effect May 6, 2026, shields polluters from liability unless plaintiffs can prove, by "clear and convincing evidence," that the defendant violated a specific emissions statute or permit. This exceptionally high legal bar effectively blocks most climate accountability lawsuits in the state, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Below is a statement from Dr. Delta Merner, Lead Scientist for the climate accountability campaign at UCS:

"This is a surrender to wealthy special interests and an affront to the public good. Utah's contentious new law doesn't just ignore the climate crisis-it elevates the biggest polluters that profit from the climate crisis over communities harmed by climate change. By letting polluters off the hook for the damage their actions have caused, the legislature has chosen corporate impunity over public health, science, and justice.

"Climate change is already hurting Utahns. Now, it will be nearly impossible for the people the legislature was elected to represent to seek redress for these harms. Lawmakers cannot protect Utah's future while prioritizing those responsible for its destabilization.

"Unfortunately, this effort to help fossil fuel companies evade responsibility for climate damages is not an isolated incident. It's part of a much larger effort-pushed by Big Oil and their allies-to rewrite the rules, dodge accountability, and block climate action at every level. From statehouses to Washington D.C., these immunity laws threaten to entrench a costly and precarious fossil fuel-dependent future for the profits of a select polluting few. There is still time to ensure that industry doesn't gain immunity at a federal level -- Congress must stand strong against a federal immunity shield for Big Oil."

While this is the first law of its kind in the country, it represents the leading edge in a wave of anti-climate accountability bills that have also been introduced in Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and are possible in Congress. The bills reflect a rapidly escalating national push by the fossil fuel industry and its chief lobbying arm, the American Petroleum Institute, to end climate accountability litigation and undermine emerging "polluter pays" and climate superfund policies.

This comes at a time when communities across the country face intensifying climate impacts: worsening air quality, prolonged droughts, shrinking water supplies, extended heatwaves and increased wildfire risk-all of which place disproportionate burdens on vulnerable communities.