NY’s Climate Change Superfund Act passes!!
After years of slow action, the New York State Assembly joined the State Senate in passing the Climate Change Superfund Act— intended to make the most polluting corporations in NY pay for the harm they’ve caused.
Superfund creates a 25-year fund of $3 billion annually, financed by big fossil fuel corporations, for climate mitigation, adaptation, and resiliency projects. One-third is reserved for communities most impacted by the climate crisis. New York follows Vermont, which became the first US state to pass a similar Superfund a month prior. The dominoes are falling: Maryland, Massachusetts, and California have similar proposals.
But we can expect that oil companies are going to fight back every trick and loophole they can find, such as claiming these are retroactive taxes, or that it is not nuanced enough to match any individual company’s specific impact. According to the National Law Review:
“Paralleling the arguments made in the pending state climate cases, the [fossil fuel industry] also will likely assert that insofar as these state laws seek to regulate interstate GHG emissions, they are preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and beyond the scope of individual States’ authority. The industry is also expected to argue that the liability is being selectively imposed and disproportionate to the harm allegedly caused by each entity (if the individual nexus to such harm can be shown at all).”
What you can do
The celebration is real, but unfortunately, New York failed on most other important climate justice legislation this year— despite widespread mobilization. The battle is far from over and we're trying to stay vigilant by helping our local activist networks in New York.
Join us at the 2024 Street Work Earth in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, on September 22 to learn more about NY policies. Get a free ticket to let us know you plan to come!
Want to get more involved and spend more time with our team? Pick the volunteer ticket when you reserve your spot! We'll email you to learn more about what you're interested in!
