President Trump’s recent executive order on “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach” sends a clear message: states must stop weaponizing lawsuits against the very industry that powers our nation. This kind of state-led overreach threatens more than just American energy dominance. It jeopardizes our national security, economic prosperity and the livelihoods of working families across the nation.
In Louisiana, we should understand this better than anyone.
Our energy sector drives 25% of the state’s total economic output, contributing nearly $78 billion in value and supporting more than 300,000 of our neighbors through direct, indirect or induced employment. These are well-paid, stable jobs that fuel communities and help keep Louisiana competitive globally.
But this system—our jobs—are under attack from within.
President Trump’s executive order comes on the heels of the troubling coastal lawsuit verdict from Plaquemines Parish, which sent a stark warning that even lawful, permitted energy investments in Louisiana can lead to billion-dollar consequences decades later. And there are still dozens of coastal lawsuits filed in parishes across South Louisiana that are expected to be heard in court soon.
A 2019 study by the Pelican Institute found that these coastal lawsuits are costing Louisiana’s economy up to $113 million annually. That’s money that could be going toward education, infrastructure and local services. They also create a hostile business climate, delaying permitting, discouraging future investment and signaling to energy producers and beyond that Louisiana is a risky, uncertain place to do business.
And we’re not alone. New York’s so-called “climate change” law seeks to collect billions from energy producers for past greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of when or where they occurred. Vermont is pushing similar legislation. California’s aggressive carbon credit regime forces businesses into an impossible bind with harsh emissions caps and costly compliance requirements. Who would have thought Louisiana would be grouped with states known for being anti-industry?
The longer we delay supporting President Trump’s order and prop up the “weaponized” coastal lawsuits in select parishes, the more we risk undermining Louisiana’s position as an energy leader. Louisianians pay the price as jobs move to states like Texas and investments disappear.
Louisiana energy producers are the number one private investors in our coast. We don’t need to sue them into supporting coastal restoration. Every dollar spent on lawsuits is a dollar not spent on restoration. Louisiana works when we work together.
There is a long way to go before the case in Plaquemines Parish is finished. We cannot let what happened there happen in other parishes across South Louisiana. We urge Louisiana’s leaders: comply with the executive order, drop the lawsuits and focus on working with industry to protect our coast, support our jobs and help power the nation.
Energy dominance starts here at home. Louisiana must lead, not litigate.
By Marc Ehrhardt, Executive Director, Grow Louisiana Coalition
