ALBANY, N.Y. — Major fossil fuel companies should pay fees to help New York combat its effects 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 sovereign wealth fund for infrastructure projects intended to repair or prevent future damage from climate change.
Lawmakers passed the bill earlier this year to force major oil and gas companies to contribute to the costs of repairs after extreme weather events and resiliency projects such as coastal wetland restoration and upgrades to roads, 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 climate crisis. 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 everyday New Yorkers deal with the consequences,” Krueger said.
The largest emitters of greenhouse gases between 2000 and 2018 would be subject to the fines.
The law will not immediately punish companies. Instead, the state should come up with rules on how to identify responsible parties, notify companies of the fines and set up a system for determining which infrastructure projects will be paid for by the fund. Legal challenges are expected.
“This type of legislation represents nothing more than another punitive tax on American energy, and we are evaluating our options going forward,” the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s main lobbying group, said in a statement.
New York’s governor signed the measure months after Vermont introduced a proposal similar law in place.