When policymakers talk about the burden of energy costs on American families, the conversation tends to focus on rising utility bills and higher prices at the pump. But there’s a cost building quietly in the background — one that never appears on a receipt, never gets debated on the floor of Congress, and never shows up in a headline about gas prices.

A growing wave of public nuisance lawsuits regarding climate change is working its way through state courts, and if successful, these suits would amount to one of the most significant hidden taxes on American energy consumers in recent memory.