Hochul, Legislature Should Be Applauded for Climate Superfund Act
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
In the face of the incoming climate-denying presidential administration, state climate policy matters more now than ever.
Two weeks ago, Gov. Hochul signed the Climate Superfund Act to hold the state’s biggest polluters accountable for their fossil fuel emissions. The bill, passed by the Senate and Assembly in June, will levy $3 billion on fossil fuel companies and other polluters to pay for infrastructure costs and other damage caused by climate disasters. It is one of the country’s most progressive pieces of climate legislation yet.
I want to express my gratitude to the legislators who championed this bill from its conception to its signing six months after the end of the legislative session. I would also like to thank Gov. Hochul for choosing to protect the people and their money over the interests of a few corporations.
Opponents of this bill claimed that levying pollution fees would result in higher prices for consumers, but gas and oil prices are largely driven by market forces of supply and demand. The Superfund will save us money, assisting New Yorkers to build back after floods, hurricanes, droughts and wildfires that are part of our new reality as climate change worsens.
With the new legislative session beginning this week, the legislature and Gov. Hochul must continue to prioritize passing and implementing key climate justice policies to protect their constituents from facing the worst effects of climate change.
Jenna Cain
Thornwood
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