FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 26, 2024
Contact: Cassidy DiPaola, cassidy@fossilfree.media, 401-441-7196

New York Makes History, Passes Climate Superfund Law to Hold Big Oil Accountable

Second State to Require Fossil Fuel Companies to Pay for Climate Damage

ALBANY, NY — Today, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act into law, making New York the second state in the nation to require fossil fuel companies to pay for climate damages. The law will raise $75 billion over 25 years from the oil and gas companies most responsible for the climate crisis, funding vital climate adaptation and resilience projects across the state.

The passage marks a major escalation in state-level climate action as the incoming Trump administration threatens to roll back federal environmental protections. Similar bills have already been introduced in Massachusetts, California, and Maryland, while lawmakers in states like Minnesota and Oregon are actively developing their own legislation following New York’s model.

The law comes as New York faces mounting climate costs, with taxpayers hit by $2.2 billion in climate-related damages in 2023 alone. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has reassured families the law’s structure ensures costs cannot be passed on to consumers.

Environmental, youth, and policy leaders from across the country issued the following statements in response:

Cassidy DiPaola, Communications Director at Fossil Free Media and spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign: “This victory marks a seismic shift in climate politics. Big Oil spent decades burying their own scientists’ warnings and bankrolling a sophisticated disinformation campaign – but that era of impunity ends today.

The timing couldn’t be more critical. As Trump threatens to gut federal climate protections, New York is creating a blueprint for state-level action that’s already spreading. We’re hearing from legislators in a dozen states who recognize this moment. When the world’s tenth-largest economy successfully holds polluters accountable, it changes things nationwide.

This win belongs to every New Yorker who refused to let Big Oil dodge responsibility any longer. From flood survivors to firefighters, union workers to parents, we came together to demand climate justice – and we won. New York just proved David can beat Goliath.”

Blair Horner, Executive Director of NYPIRG: “Governor Hochul just made history by holding Big Oil companies accountable for the damage they cause to New Yorkers’ lives and livelihoods. This year alone, taxpayers have spent $1.5 Billion dollars on climate change cleanup – but the Climate Change Superfund Act will take that massive burden off of taxpayers and shift it to the wealthy companies that made the mess in the first place. We commend the bold leadership of our bill sponsors Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz for seeing this through, and urge other states to follow suit and make polluters pay!”

Bill McKibben, environmentalist and founder of Third Act: “This is a huge moment. The earth’s tenth-largest economy is standing up to some of the earth’s biggest corporations, on behalf of its beleaguered citizens. The balance of power between the fossil fuel juggernaut that began with that New Yorker John Rockefeller and an overheating world is shifting, and ever-faster!”

Aru Shiney-Ajay, Executive Director, Sunrise Movement: “This is a watershed victory. Since before I was born, fossil fuel companies have known that burning oil, gas, and coal would threaten millions of lives and homes. But, they went full steam ahead. Now, states like New York are holding Big Oil accountable and forcing them to pick up the skyrocketing cost of climate disasters.”

Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute: “Gov. Hochul’s signature on this bill will supercharge efforts to make polluters pay instead of taxpayers,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “The whole country is looking for leaders to protect us and the environment from Trump’s coddling of corporate polluters. California can build on its success in countering Trump and Big Oil by joining this growing national movement. It can be the first major oil-producing state to make sure polluters pay their bills instead of foisting billions in climate disaster costs on Californians.”

Rev. Chelsea MacMillan, NY Organizer for GreenFaith: “Fossil fuel polluters now must pay to heal what they’ve broken—compassion and justice demand no less. The Climate Superfund Bill is a moral imperative to alleviate suffering and protect our communities and our planet,”

Aaron Regunberg, Senior Counsel, Public Citizen: “Big Oil companies not only knew they were causing catastrophic climate change, they conspired to wage a massive disinformation campaign to keep the public from understanding the dangerousness of their products. They have made trillions of dollars from this deception, and regular people are paying the price. So to see one of the biggest states in the nation say, ‘It’s time for these polluters to pay for the harm they’ve caused’ is incredibly exciting — and now it’s time for other communities to follow New York’s lead!”

Richard Schrader, Director, New York Government Affairs at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) said: “By signing the Climate Change Superfund Act,Governor Hochul is addressing the financial burden placed on New Yorkers by the fossil fuel companies. It’s a key example of placing fiscal fairness and environmental justice front and center. The funds raised by the Act will allow for investment in life-saving infrastructure improvements, safeguarding coastal communities from flooding, creating systems to protect people from extreme heat, and improving response to environmental and public health threats.”

Kaniela Ing, National Director of the Green New Deal Network: “With the federal government poised to roll back progress, Governor Hochul has an opportunity to show the nation what bold state climate leadership looks like. This landmark legislation will hold corporate polluters accountable, protect working families from bearing the financial burden of climate disasters, and ensure New York is prepared to meet the escalating challenges of the climate crisis. Signing this bill into law will set the bar high for other state leaders as a commitment to justice for all communities impacted by climate change.”

Ashfaq Khalfan, Climate Justice Director, Oxfam America: “Governor Hochul took bold action today by signing the Climate Change Superfund Act into law —a decision of global significance as people around the world face catastrophic storms, heat waves, and rising seas. At this critical moment, with a climate denier poised to enter the White House, this historic act offers hope by ensuring rich polluters pay their fair share to protect communities from the effects of the climate crisis and shift to clean renewable energy.”

Abigail Dillen, President, Earthjustice: “After a year marked by heat waves, wildfires, and flooding, Governor Hochul is standing up for New Yorkers and setting a national example by signing the climate change superfund act into law. Climate change is costing our communities billions of dollars in damages, and it is only fair that fossil fuels companies help to bear those costs. For decades, they have profited while knowing that their pollution is an overwhelming driver of the climate crisis that is now hitting all of us. We thank the bill sponsors, Assemblyman Dinowitz and Senator Krueger, for their leadership on this issue, and the thousands of New Yorkers who have made their voices heard.”

Keanu Arpels-Josiah, 19, Core Organizer for Fridays For Future NYC: “Our future is on fire, New York is on fire, and meanwhile the fossil fuel industry is bringing in trillions of dollars in profit year after year. It’s high time for them to pay their fair share in New York. The signing of the full Climate Superfund Act, as youth across the state have advocated for year after year, is a critical step toward that—let this be the beginning of a shift on climate from this Governor. Next: the NY HEAT Act and building public renewables. Our future is on the line.”

Background

In the final hours of the 2024 Legislative Session, the NYS Assembly passed the Climate Change Superfund Act 92-49. The Senate passed it 43-17 earlier this session, for the second time. The bill is supported by NYC Mayor Eric Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander, in addition to 100 local elected officials from across the state, dozens of labor groups and businesses, and over 400 community, environmental, religious, and youth groups.

The Climate Change Superfund Act is modeled on the existing State and Federal Superfund law (which requires polluters to fund toxic waste dump cleanups) by making Big Oil climate polluters financially responsible for the environmental damages that they have caused. The top Big Oil companies will be required to pay a combined $3 billion annually, every year for 25 years.

These costs won’t fall back on consumers, according to Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and an analysis from the think tank Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU Law.According to experts, because Big Oil’s payments would reflect past contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, oil companies would have to treat their payments as one-time fixed costs. “Regardless of market structures, oil companies are unable to pass on increases in fixed costs to consumers due to economic incentives and competition.” Experts also argued that “beyond the design of the Act, oil companies would also be unable to retaliate against New York by raising retail gasoline prices in the state due to the interconnectedness of the national and global energy markets and existing U.S. antitrust laws.”

New York is facing staggering—and growing—climate costs. In 2023 alone, Governor Hochul announced $2.2 billion in taxpayer funding for climate-related infrastructure repairs and upgrades and resilience projects. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that it will cost $52 billion just to protect NY Harbor. On top of that, we’ll need $75-$100 billion to protect Long Island, and $55 billion for climate costs across the rest of the state. The state Comptroller has predicted that more than half of local governments’ costs will be attributable to the climate crisis.

Big Oil is at fault for climate change, and it can certainly afford the costs. According to a study in One Earth, the world’s 21 top polluting companies are responsible for $5.4 trillion in climate damages over a period of 26 years. While these climate damage bills pile up for taxpayers, the industry responsible for this mess is raking in cash. From January 2021 through now, Big Oil has made $1 trillion in profits.

Those record profits allowed them to deliver unprecedented returns to shareholders while doing little to address the climate crisis they knew was coming, but did all they could to undermine climate action. Starting in the 1970s, scientists working for Exxon made “remarkably accurate projections of just how much burning fossil fuels would warm the planet.” Yet for years, “the oil giant publicly cast doubt on climate science, and cautioned against any drastic move away from burning fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.”

The Climate Change Superfund Act isn’t just necessary—it’s popular. According to a poll from Data for Progress, a whopping 89% of New Yorkers support fossil fuel companies covering at least some of the cost for climate damages. Another poll found that 70% of New York voters support the Climate Change Superfund Act, including majorities across party lines. Nationally, 89% of Democratic voters support the climate superfund approach, and 53% of New York voters are more likely to vote for candidates who support passing a climate superfund bill.

About the Make Polluters Pay Campaign:

Make Polluters Pay is a national campaign building public support to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate damages. Modeled on the successful Truth Campaign that took on Big Tobacco, the campaign supports communities fighting Big Oil through legal and legislative action. While Americans face over $150 billion annually in climate disaster costs, fossil fuel companies continue to report record profits. The campaign coordinates support for climate liability lawsuits – now filed by 46 states, cities, and municipalities representing over a quarter of the U.S. population – and state-level legislation requiring polluters, not people, to pay for climate damage. For more information, visit www.makepolluterspay.org.