As climate disasters like floods, fires, and hurricanes intensify, our communities are paying billions to deal with climate impacts. That’s why a growing number of cities and states are filing lawsuits or passing new legislation that would make the fossil fuel industry pay their fair share for climate damages. Afterall, Big Oil knew for decades they were causing this crisis, but lied to the public and lobbied against climate solutions.
Now, Big Oil is turning to its allies in Congress to try and secure a “liability waiver” that would give them blanket immunity from any efforts to hold them accountable for their climate crimes. This “get out of jail free” card would allow them to keep raking in record profits while we all pay the price of their pollution. This is the same type of legislation that the gun industry was able to pass in 2005 that makes it so they can’t be held responsible when their product kills people.
Sign this petition
to Congress telling them to oppose this Big Oil bailout. We can’t give this toxic industry any more free passes when our communities are burning, flooding, and being destroyed by climate change.
Together we can win this fight and protect our progress.
Motivated by the enactment of legislation last year to establish a climate change superfund, first in Vermont and then New York, proposals to make polluters pay for their role in driving the climate crisis are gaining momentum in states across the nation. These climate change adaptation cost recovery programs require the biggest polluters that have contributed significantly to the buildup of climate-warming greenhouse gases to begin paying their fair share of the repair costs of damages to municipal infrastructure from extreme storms. The funds also finance infrastructure investments to mitigate against future storms and a wide range of efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change.
Legislation is also being introduced in several states, including New York’s Climate Liability Act (A72 Solages / S4799 Myrie), to establish a private right of action, allowing any person, government entity, firm, corporation or association harmed by a climate disaster or extreme weather attributable to climate change, the right to file a lawsuit in state court against responsible parties.
Nevertheless, rather than owning up to their responsibility and being accountable for past actions and the consequences that follow, Big Oil companies are calling on their drill-baby-drill allies in Congress to secure a liability waiver that gives them blanket immunity from any efforts to hold them accountable for their climate-changing emissions.