The giants of the fossil fuel sector will have to pay for the damage they have caused to the climate, while also helping the state of New York adopt policies to mitigate global warming. This is established by a new law signed at the end of December by Governor Kathy Hochul. The legislation requires companies responsible for significant quantities of greenhouse gas emissions to contribute to a state fund. Public authorities will then be able to draw on these resources to finance projects in line with the ecological transition and the fight against climate change.

Dr Paul Dorfman ✓ @dorfman_p

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New York to fine fossil fuel companies $75 billion under new climate law reuters.com/sustainability…

♥ 6 2 gen 2025 · Apri su X →

From the fund: resources for climate change mitigation and adaptation

The fund will also provide the capital needed to address damage caused by extreme weather events. These are becoming increasingly frequent and severe precisely due to the rise in average global temperatures. To prevent their effects, funding will also be available — for example — to modify roads, railways, bridges, electrical grids and water networks in order to protect them, as well as to install drainage systems to counter rising sea levels (a consequence of the melting of polar ice, another effect of global warming).

The law stipulates that, for the damage caused through their business activities over the next 25 years, oil, coal and gas companies will be required to pay $75 billion. "The state of New York has launched a legislative initiative that will be watched by the entire world, as it has decided to hold the companies most responsible for the climate crisis accountable for their actions," declared Democratic Senator Liz Krueger, a supporter of the new law.

"Fossil fuel companies have made a trillion dollars in profits in just a few years"

The same US legislator added that "repairing the damage and adapting to the extreme weather conditions caused by climate change will already cost New York more than $500 billion by 2050. The major oil companies have made more than a trillion dollars in profits since January 2021 alone, and since the 1970s they have known the consequences of burning fossil fuels."

NY Assembly Majority @NYSA_Majority

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The #NYSAssemblyMajority is taking bold action to combat climate change and save you money. The Climate Change Superfund Act makes major fossil fuel companies pay for climate adaptation and mitigation projects across New York State so taxpayers don't have to foot the bill.

♥ 6 6 gen 2025 · Apri su X →

The state of New York is thus following a similar piece of legislation that has already been passed in Vermont. Unsurprisingly, the American Petroleum Institute, which represents the US oil industry, is opposed: "These kinds of laws are nothing more than a new punitive tax on American energy." The fossil fuel lobby is likely to now attempt to file legal challenges in the courts, seeking to establish the principle that the law conflicts with federal regulations on energy and pollution.