By Donna G., IEB Climate Action Team member
Indivisible East Bay (IEB) is joining the movement to hold fossil fuel corporations accountable for the climate crisis they’ve caused. Through the Make Polluters Pay campaign we’re pushing to pass state legislation that will charge fossil fuel corporations for climate costs that are hurting Californians. You can help!
Los Angeles’ recent wildfires are estimated to cost a staggering $250 billion in recovery. And scientists tell us that the pace and scale of climate catastrophes are only going to grow.
Taxpayers currently shoulder the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to cover the impacts of climate change, but we aren’t the main drivers of this crisis—it is the large fossil fuel polluters. They should pay their fair share too.
Enter the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 and AB 1283). The bill will ensure that polluting corporations are held accountable and pay their fair share to help Californians prepare for and recover from climate disasters.
Authored by Senator Caroline Menjivar and Assemblymember Dawn Addis, the bill directs CalEPA to study climate costs through 2045, identify responsible parties, and assess compensatory fees proportional to their emissions since 1990.
The Climate Superfund will protect Californians and lower costs through critical climate solutions, including investments in a clean energy transition, community resilience, home hardening, sustainable infrastructure, and essential workers responding to climate disasters. The bill prioritizes labor and job standards and dedicates at least 40% of the funds to benefit communities hit hardest by fossil fuel pollution.
IEB is joining hundreds of California organizations to get this bill over the finish line (a similar bill died in committee last year). The first step? Contacting your state representatives and urging them to sign on as co-sponsors to the bill (find contact info for your state Senators and Assemblymembers here).
To help push this forward, IEB’s Climate Action Team will be hosting our own Action Hours in the coming weeks (sign up for one on 3/6 here, and 3/14 here). This is a chance for you to get involved, take action and help grow support for the bill by expanding its list of co-sponsors. (If you’re reading this after 3/14, take a look at our events calendar to see any that are coming up!)
The time to act is now—let’s make sure the polluters pay for the damage they’ve caused, and ensure a safer, more sustainable future for all Californians.
Stay tuned for more updates on how you can help!
