Applaud The States Protecting Crucial Climate Superfund Laws

Lawmakers in several states are continuing efforts to make major fossil fuel producers contribute toward the costs of climate-related damage, even as similar laws face challenges in federal court!

These proposals are commonly known as climate superfund laws. Modeled in part on the federal Superfund program for toxic waste, they seek to collect money from major fossil fuel producers based on their historical greenhouse gas emissions and use the proceeds for climate adaptation, infrastructure, disaster recovery, and other related costs.

Vermont has already enacted a climate superfund law, while Minnesota lawmakers have introduced legislation of their own. Lawmakers in Washington and Connecticut are preparing proposals for upcoming legislative sessions, and legislators in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts are also continuing to pursue similar measures.

The efforts are moving forward despite recent federal court rulings against New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act. Those decisions apply directly to New York, but lawmakers elsewhere are considering how the courts’ reasoning could affect the design and defense of their own legislation.

In Washington, for example, state Rep. Shaun Scott says lawmakers can use the New York litigation to identify potential legal vulnerabilities as they develop their proposal. In Connecticut, lawmakers are considering a program that would direct proceeds toward projects including flood mitigation, coastal protection, stormwater upgrades, and electric-grid resilience.

Add your name to applaud the states continuing to pursue climate superfund policies aimed at having major fossil fuel producers contribute toward climate adaptation, infrastructure, and disaster-related costs!