Van Hollen, Nadler Seek to Hold Polluters to Account for Climate Damages

WASHINGTON — Legislation introduced in both the House and Senate on Thursday seeks to hold the world’s largest fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate change damages they’ve caused.

Sponsored by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act would require the largest U.S.-based fossil fuel extractors and oil refiners, and foreign-owned companies doing business in the United States, to pay into a $1 trillion Polluters Pay Climate Fund, with their contributions based on a percentage of their global emissions.

The fund would then be used to finance a wide range of efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change, the lion’s share of the money going to the most impacted communities, and 40% of the fund would be set aside for investments that benefit environmental justice communities.

Standing alongside climate activists in the so-called “Senate Swamp,” a shaded area on the Capitol grounds that is often used for press briefings, Van Hollen said, “We all agree on a simple, but powerful principle, which is that polluters should pay to clean up the mess they have caused, and that those who have polluted the most should pay the most.”

The senator then reeled off a list of climate-related disasters, both large and small, ranging from the huge, nearly uncontrollable wildfires out west to flooding that has disrupted some activities at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

He also pointed to some of the carry-on effects of these situations, ranging from consumers being denied insurance that might help them cope with some of their losses to escalating health care costs.

“We are witnessing the accelerating impacts of climate change throughout the state of Maryland, and throughout the country,” Van Hollen continued. “And when you consider the cost of that, and that damages are caused by a variety of [polluters], it simply makes sense to ask these polluters to foot the bill and not ask consumers and taxpayers to pick up the tab,” he said. 

As crafted by Van Hollen and Nadler, the law would be particularly hard on “the heaviest hitters,” those fossil fuel companies responsible for at least 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions between the years 2000 and 2022.

The actual amount each company pays into the fund will be determined by the Treasury Department in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency. 

“Each company’s contribution would be directly proportional to the carbon emissions they produced in that time period,” Van Hollen said.

“This fund would be a big, big step forward in our efforts to address the damages caused by climate change and, importantly, should have virtually no impact on energy costs,” he said. 

He explained the latter by saying the fund payments would not raise the marginal costs associated with actually extracting fossil fuels from the ground.

He also said that while concentrating on the biggest polluters, “there will be lots of other companies in the market to compete on price.”

“Importantly, the fund will not preempt state laws or lawsuits seeking accountability from big polluters,” he said, adding with pride, “Since we put this proposal as draft legislation back in 2021, we’ve seen the idea take off around the country on the state level.

“In fact, we’ve seen climate superfund bills introduced in my home state of Maryland, in Massachusetts, in California and in New York; and in one state, Vermont, similar legislation has already been signed into law,” he said. “Now we want to bring it back home to the federal government.”

For his part, Nadler said he has long viewed the climate crisis as “an existential threat to our planet” and “the most significant challenge modern humans have ever faced.”

“And it’s not some deep, distant threat,” he said. “The urgency of this crisis cannot be overstated, and it demands immediate and decisive action.”

Nadler said research shows that a third of all the greenhouse gas emissions that have occurred in the modern era can be directly linked to 20 fossil fuel companies.

“For over 60 years, these companies have known about their role in driving the climate crisis, and made massive profits from it,” he said. “Despite this awareness, they have done little to nothing to address the harmful effects their practices have had on the environment and public health.”

Nadler, who has served in state and federal government since the late 1970s, said the impact of this on his constituents has been enormous.

“For many years, as these fossil fuel companies denied what they knew to be true about global warming … taxpayers have been unfairly forced to bear the cost of mitigating its devastating impacts,” he said.

“Just last year, New York City taxpayers — not New York state, mind you, but New York City taxpayers — forked over more than $2 billion to cover the cost of addressing the climate crisis,” he said. 

“It is long past time that our nation put the health and well-being of our communities ahead of the fossil fuel industry,” Nadler added.

Joining the lawmakers at the podium were a number of climate activists, including Maura Cowley, political director of the Make Polluters Pay campaign; Sara Chieffo, vice president of government affairs for the League of Conservation Voters; Phil Radford, chief strategy officer for the Sierra Club; and Mike Tidwell, founder of the grassroots nonprofit, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

“Today we’re standing up and telling the fossil fuel industry you will be held accountable for the climate damage you’ve caused,” Cowley said.

“This is a crucial moment. This past summer, as anyone who was in D.C. this summer knows, we faced another year of record-breaking heat and climate disasters,” she said. “In 2023 alone, the United States experienced 28 distinct billion-dollar-plus weather and climate disasters, totaling more than $92 billion in damages.

“It’s time to hold Big Oil accountable for the damages they have caused. This legislation … offers a comprehensive solution to make fossil fuel companies pay their fair share,” Cowley continued. 

“The American people have also clearly spoken on this issue. Our recent polling shows that 66% of the public support legislation like the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act. That is not a tight margin,” she said. “This isn’t partisan. It’s about fairness. It’s about accountability, and that resonates for people across the country. 

“The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act is about creating a more equitable approach to addressing climate change. For far too long, the costs of climate disasters have fallen disproportionately on taxpayers and vulnerable communities, the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act aims to rebalance that equation,” Cowley said.

Equity was also very much on Chieffo’s mind.

“Big polluters are making record profits year after year. They’re price gouging consumers at the pump. They are spewing pollution for free into our air that is fueling the climate crisis and harming communities, and low-wealth communities of color are being hit hardest,” she said.

“This groundbreaking legislation requires the biggest polluters, as you heard from Sen. Van Hollen, to pay into a fund that will remediate and address the impacts of climate change,” Chieffo said. “These investments are sorely needed. They will help rebuild and upgrade our infrastructure, clean up pollution impacts in frontline communities, and provide climate-related disaster assistance that is so sorely needed in communities across this country.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue