The Vermont Sierra Club is submitting a letter of support for the passage of legislation to establish a Climate Superfund. We thank the Senate Judiciary for taking up S.259 and urge the legislature to pass the Climate Superfund Act (S.259/H.809) this year. The Vermont Sierra Club and our 10,000 members and supporters overwhelmingly support holding polluters accountable.
Climate change is hitting Vermont hard and costing Vermonters billions. Just in the last year, Vermont has experienced multiple extreme flood events, erratic weather patterns that disrupt agriculture, and ever-increasing temperatures. We’ve also been subjected to the effects of increasing wildfires, creating unsafe air conditions throughout much of our region. We’ve seen a winter with far less snow than many past winters, with temperature fluctuations causing freeze-thaw cycles that deplete our soil health.
Despite all this, Big Oil is making record profits. The world’s largest fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron knew about the dangers of climate change for decades but deceived the public about it for as long as they could. And even now, when fossil fuel contributions to our warming planet are confirmed by science, they continue to make huge sums of money while sticking taxpayers with the massive climate bill. What if we could make big oil return some of those profits in Vermont to reduce the amount Vermonters have to pay to clean up from climate change? Let’s create a Climate Superfund to recoup some of climate change’s costs from the biggest oil companies to rebuild our infrastructure, make climate solutions more affordable, and protect our farms and forests.
By making big oil pay for the damage it has caused, we can start to repair damages brought by a changing climate and maintain a safe, healthy environment for future generations. They have knowingly polluted our planet for decades-- here is our chance to make them chip in to fix it.
The Sierra Club sees S.259/H.809 as important steps moving forward to ensure Vermonters are not stuck picking up the tab for climate-related disasters, and that coupling this measure with our work to advance clean transportation, reform the renewable energy standard, and transition to clean heating and sustainable housing we can build resilient communities. We urge legislators to pass S.259/H.809 this year.
Submitted: Robb Kidd
Vermont Sierra Club
Po.Box 492 Montpelier, VT 05602