1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

“Nobody can afford the kind of financial crisis that the climate crisis has caused,” - California Assemblymember Dawn Addis So, today I take pen in hand to write and urge your full support to. Break the gridlock for this legislative session’s Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act. California SB64. As you know, this crucial legislation is intended to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the immense damages caused by their greenhouse gas emissions over decades. The evidence in clear, and new attribution science gives us a better picture than ever of the global scope of the side effects of the use of fossil fuels across industries and energy sectors, as well as transportation. As a precedent, the International Court of Justice’s ruling has moved the ball forward on many fronts: While the ruling is non-binding, meaning countries are not forced to comply, its implications are profound for international law, climate litigation, and global climate diplomacy. California’s SB 64 rightly aims to have these fossil fuel polluters pay their fair share of costs instead of burdening California taxpayers every single time. Under this act, a thorough climate cost study would quantify the total climate damages to our state from 1990 through 2045 due to fossil fuels. Major fossil fuel extractors and refiners found responsible for over 1 billion metric tons of emissions during 1990-2024 would then be assessed proportional cost recovery demands. As the side effects of climate change intensify, California lead the way and prioritize measures to adapt and become resilient - efforts the Superfund would support using polluter fees. I urge you to co-sponsor and robustly champion this ethically and financially prudent legislation. Corporate polluters, not the public, should bear the costs of mitigating harms that they knowingly caused. Thank you for your attention to this matter.