New Jerseyans call on Legislature to make fossil fuel companies — not taxpayers — pay for escalating climate damages
Red Bank, NJ - This afternoon, advocates and lawmakers alike gathered in support of the
Climate Superfund Act. Victims of the more recent climate events will be speaking on how these
events have impacted their livelihoods. Organized by Clean Water Action and the EmpowerNJ
Coalition, the press conference featured State Senator Vin Gopal, Assemblywoman Margie
Donlon, Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul, Mayor Billy Portman of Red Bank, and Mayor Lori
Hohenleitner of Atlantic Highlands.
The Act would require the world’s largest fossil fuel corporations to pay for the billions in
damages from storms, floods, and heat waves that have battered New Jersey. Modeled after
laws in New York and Vermont, the bill has cleared both chambers’ environmental committees
and is backed by dozens of municipalities, counties, and organizations. It targets companies
responsible for over one billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 1995, directing that
money to infrastructure repairs, community protections, and climate resilience projects.
“Sea level at the Jersey Shore is rising faster than the global average; if we love our
boardwalks, small businesses, and coastal communities, we must future-proof them now,” said
Senate Majority Whip Vin Gopal (NJ-11). “These conditions are placing an outsized burden on
our shore communities, with rising premiums and dwindling access to homeowners
insurance.The Climate Superfund will make the polluters pay instead of our homeowners. The
climate clock is in the red zone, and every day we wait, the bill grows and the damage
deepens.”
“As a representative of coastal communities, I know firsthand the fear and damage severe
weather brings,” said Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul (NJ-11). “The need to invest in
more resilient shore communities is urgent, and the Climate Change Superfund will help us
secure the resources to make those investments fairly. The burden of recovery should not fall solely on residents, taxpayers, and municipalities. Those who contributed to this crisis must be
part of the solution.”
“The Climate Superfund Act is about resilience and responsibility,” said Assemblywoman
Margie Donlon (NJ-11). “It ensures that we have the resources to recover and adapt, while
holding polluters accountable for the damage they have caused. Every day we wait, our shore
towns and their residents are denied the tools they need to build safer and more resilient
communities. The time to act is now”
“New Jersey residents continue to be threatened by larger and more frequent storms due to
climate change. The devastating flooding we have seen in recent weeks is unfortunately just the
beginning if the status quo remains,” said Senator John McKeon (D-27). “We are fighting to
pass the Climate Superfund Act because we know what’s right. We know that the fossil fuel
companies that have polluted our communities for decades should be the ones responsible for
footing the bill to clean it up.”
Assembly Prime Sponsor John Allen (D-32) stated “Let’s be clear - there is no time to wait:
we must, without delay, take the immediate steps laid out in my bill to hold big oil accountable
for the severe harm they’ve caused to our communities for decades. Climate change is an
existential threat to our towns and cities across New Jersey, and the time to act is now. I thank
Clean Water Action, EmpowerNJ Coalition, and my colleagues in government for holding this
important rally, as the momentum continues to build for this critical cause.”
Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman shared, “Passing the Climate Superfund Act is a no brainer for
New Jersey. Let's hold those who are causing climate change accountable.”
State Senator Andrew Zwicker (D-16) stated, “When the federal government rolls over for
corporate polluters and the fossil fuel industry, it’s up to states like New Jersey to stand up for
the environmental protections we deserve. By making polluters pay for disaster relief,
infrastructure repairs, and flood protections, we’re making our state more resilient to climate
change while holding accountable the corporations causing it.”
“The effects of climate change are no longer a distant threat. They are here and have already
had a tangible impact on our communities, whether it’s families displaced by flooding, workers
laboring in extreme heat, or towns struggling to rebuild after devastating storms,” said Senator
Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer). “The Climate Superfund Act is about ensuring those
communities have the necessary resources to recover and mitigate the impact of future
disasters—and it will be paid for by the big polluters responsible for the damage, not local
taxpayers.”
“Whether you live on the Jersey Shore, large city, or in-land communities, like Plainfield, low
income households, renters, businesses and towns lack the resources and insurance coverage
to protect and recover from the onslaught of climate change,” said Amy Goldsmith, New
Jersey State Director at Clean Water Action. “When Superstorm Sandy hit, our Belmar office
was completely destroyed. We had to fend for ourselves and relied on generous donations to
get back on our feet. This is not what public policy should look like. NJ’s best option for
protecting whole communities is the Climate Superfund Act — requiring Big Oil, the known
wrongdoers and catalyst for climate change, to dig into their deep money pockets to pay for NJ’s
future climate recovery and resilience.”
"The cost of almost everything in NJ is going up - electricity, natural gas, housing, rent, any
product with an imported component, property insurance, property taxes, health care, food,
used cars, car insurance, costs to deal with storm damages, costs to prevent flooding, etc. The
list seems endless, and there is very little that can be done to address this. One brilliant point of
light in this struggle for more affordability is the Climate Superfund Act, which has the potential
to recover about $50B from fossil fuel companies without adding to the cost of fuel. Yet,
amazingly, many legislators refuse to support it, preferring to force residents to pay for climate
costs," said Ken Dolsky, Co-leader of the Don’t Gas the Meadowlands Coalition.
As a lifelong shore resident, I want to see the Shore thrive. I want to see the next generation of
New Jerseyans to enjoy the same beauty I grew up with. But that won’t happen if homes are
underwater and families are displaced," said Ben Dziobek, Executive Director, Climate
Revolution Action Network. Our chance to pass the Climate Superfund Act is now. I’m asking
New Jersey’s legislative leadership: stand up for municipal governments, protect our future, and
stop passing the costs of the climate crisis onto taxpayers and local shore communities.
“For too long, New Jersey communities have shouldered the growing costs of climate disasters
— from floods and fires to deadly heat waves,” said John Aspray, Senior Organizer at Food &
Water Watch. “This bill is simple: It ensures that polluters pay, not the public. With the federal
government slashing climate funding, we need this law now more than ever. Governor Murphy
and the legislature must lead — and make big oil and chemical companies clean up the mess
they’ve made.”
“New Jersey championed the creation of the Superfund program to clean up our toxic sites
more than 40 years ago; it’s time that we have a Superfund program for our climate disasters,
especially for our vulnerable Shore communities. We are not going to see more federal funding
to mitigate climate impacts – it’s time for New Jersey to hold our largest climate polluters
accountable to protect our communities from extreme weather events. In this year of flooding
and extreme thunderstorms, the time is now for the Legislature to work to pass this bill by the
end of the year," said Doug O'Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey.
New Jersey has experienced 75 billion-dollar climate disasters since 1980, with the frequency
and cost of extreme weather accelerating in recent years. Revenue from the Climate Superfund
Act would fund projects to fortify infrastructure, protect public health, safeguard natural
resources, and create thousands of good-paying jobs in climate resilience.
Clean Water Action is a national 501(c)(4) environmental organization with nearly one million members nationwide. Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. Learn more at www.cleanwater.org.
EmpowerNJ is a coalition of over 150 environmental, civic, faith and progressive groups calling
on the state to act quickly to address climate change by stopping all pending fossil fuel projects
and implementing policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% from 2010
levels by 2030. EmpowerNJ is led by a Steering Committee of organizations including
BlueWave NJ, Clean Water Action, Don’t Gas the Meadowlands Coalition, Environment New
Jersey, and Food & Water Watch. www.empowernewjersey.com
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