Big fossil fuel companies should pay fees to help New York combat the effects of climate change under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The new law requires companies responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions to pay into a public fund for infrastructure projects intended to repair or prevent future damage from climate change.
Lawmakers approved the bill earlier this year to require major oil and gas companies to contribute to the cost of repairs after extreme weather events and resiliency projects such as coastal wetland restoration and road upgrades, bridges and water drainage systems.
“The Climate Change Superfund Act is now law, and New York has fired a shot that will be heard around the world: the companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable,” said Senator Liz Krueger , a Democrat who sponsored the bill.
“The planet’s biggest climate polluters bear unique responsibility for creating the climate crisis, and they must pay their fair share to help ordinary New Yorkers deal with the consequences,” Krueger said.
The largest emitters of greenhouse gases between 2000 and 2018 would be subject to fines.
The law will not immediately start penalizing businesses. Instead, the state must develop rules on how to identify responsible parties, notify businesses of fines and create a system for determining which infrastructure projects will be financed by the fund. Legal challenges are expected.
“This type of legislation represents nothing more than a new punitive tax on American energy, and we are evaluating our options moving forward,” said the American Petroleum Institute, the main lobbying group for the oil industry, in a press release.
New York’s governor signed the measure months after Vermont implemented a similar law in place.