Polluters should pay for past deceit
As the earth warms, Californians will pay more for the damages caused by climate change, including from disasters like the Los Angeles fires that are more severe as a result of hotter temperatures. But we don’t all bear equal responsibility for the crisis.
Oil and gas companies knew about the harms of climate change for decades, but lied to the public and lobbied legislators to slow climate solutions. They should pay to clean up their own mess. That’s why the state Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 would assess the biggest polluters a fee based on their past emissions, with the funding going toward climate solutions like clean energy, investing in firefighting and recovering from disasters.
– Nicolas Riani, Make Polluters Pay Fellow, 350 Bay Area Action
See full article: https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/04/10/letters-bay-area-rallies-trump-opponents-not-alone/