S. 4340 — Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026

This section declares that the general welfare and national security require action to develop energy sources, increase economic productivity, achieve energy self-sufficiency, and promote affordable energy; states the purposes of the Act to regulate interstate commerce and advance production and use of affordable, abundant, and reliable energy resources; and sets forth congressional findings on the importance of such energy resources, exclusive federal jurisdiction over interstate emissions regulation, and the adverse effects of state and local liability actions (e.g., tort claims or "climate superfund laws") against energy businesses.

This section defines nine terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "climate suit," meaning any lawsuit against a person engaged in the energy business seeking relief for alleged past or future harms from climate change, including due to marketing, misrepresentation, failure to warn, or other speech; (2) "energy," meaning crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, or coal; (3) "energy penalty law," meaning any state law, regulation, or ordinance imposing liability on energy businesses for alleged climate change costs or harms, including due to speech; (4) "greenhouse gas," meaning a heat-trapping gas such as carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide; (5) "person," meaning any individual, entity, or governmental body such as a state; (6) "person engaged in the energy business," meaning any person involved in the mining, extraction, production, refinement, transportation, distribution, manufacture, or sale of energy in interstate commerce; (7) "qualified liability action," meaning a climate suit or action to enforce an energy penalty law; (8) "State," meaning states, territories, political subdivisions, instrumentalities, and state officials; and (9) "trade association," meaning certain nonprofit organizations with at least two energy business members.

This section prohibits the filing or maintenance of qualified liability actions in any federal or state court and requires the immediate dismissal of any such pending actions. The section voids all energy penalty laws; reserves regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change exclusively to federal law and agencies; and eliminates any private right of action or claim under state law for climate change-related harms from greenhouse gas emissions.

This section provides a severability clause, stating that if any provision of the Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances remains unaffected.