Montpelier, VT – The Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) congratulated New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) for signing the Climate Change Superfund Act into law on Thursday. The new law establishes a cost recovery program that requires the fossil fuel companies that have contributed most significantly to the buildup of greenhouse gas pollution in the atmosphere to bear a fair share of the costs needed to adapt to climate change. This statute is similar to Vermont’s bipartisan Act 122, which was enacted earlier this year.
“With the prospects of national action to address the climate crisis extraordinarily dim right now, it’s more important than ever that states step up to fill the void. So, it’s encouraging to see New York joining Vermont in protecting its taxpayers from the full costs of climate change by requiring Big Oil to pay a fair share of the damages their products have caused,” said VPIRG executive director Paul Burns.
While several states, including Vermont, are pressing litigation against fossil fuel companies for consumer fraud, Vermont’s Act 122 was the nation’s first legislative measure to hold fossil fuel companies strictly liable for climate change damages. The bill earned tripartisan support in the Vermont House and Senate and Gov. Phil Scott (R) allowed it to become law without his signature in May. Similar bills have been introduced in several states, including California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. New York is the second state to have enacted such a statute.
“Congratulations to our neighbors in New York and our colleagues at the New York Public Interest Research Group,” said Burns. ”NYPIRG led the multi-year campaign to build grassroots support for this initiative. Vermont and other states have built off their blueprint. It is terrific to see their efforts result in this historic new legislation.”
In Vermont, the State Treasurer and the Agency of Natural Resources are currently working collaboratively on the implementation of Act 122. With the enactment of New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, new opportunities for collaboration with their New York counterparts have opened.
“The states have long served as the ‘laboratories of democracy,’” said Burns. “Climate Superfunds are another example of states testing new approaches to challenges that the federal government has struggled to address.”