Vermont has become the first state to enact a law holding oil firms financially responsible for climate damages, after the Republican governor, Phil Scott, allowed it to pass without his signature late on Thursday.

Under the legislation, Vermont officials will have until January 2026 to assess the total costs to the state from greenhouse gases emitted between 1995 and 2024, including the impacts on public health, biodiversity and economic development.

“It’s not every day you get to be part of something that’s both historic and potentially game-changing for all the citizens of your state,” Ben Edgerly Walsh, an advocate at the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, said.

Supporters hope the bill can serve as a model for the rest of the country as Maryland, Massachusetts and New York are considering similar measures, and as federal lawmakers weigh proposals submitted by Senators Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen.

Edgerly Walsh, however, said the legislature took steps to accommodate those concerns, including by adding funding for state agencies to manage implementation.

The American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil and gas lobby group in the US, sent a letter in March to Vermont lawmakers opposing the bill, claiming it “retroactively imposes costs and liability on prior activities that were legal” and “violates equal protection and due process rights by holding companies responsible for the actions of society at large”.

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