New Yorkers Demand Gov. Hochul Sign Climate Superfund Act Amidst Extreme Heat

On Friday, as New Yorkers struggle through another week of extreme heat, impacted families and advocates rallied outside Governor Hochul’s Manhattan office.

Demanding she sign the Climate Change Superfund Act, to make polluters pay $3B/year to protect communities from extreme heat and other climate resiliency projects.

Food & Water Watch New York State Director Laura Shindell said: “Governor Hochul has let two months of extreme heat go by without signing the Superfund Act to unleash billions of corporate dollars to keep us cool and our subways dry. Instead of making New Yorkers wait for hours to splash in crowded, underfunded pools to keep cool, Hochul should be splashing corporate cash and making polluters pay for real solutions to climate-driven extreme weather. From expanded cooling centers to rapid heat pump deployment in public housing, schools, and more, New Yorkers need relief now — Hochul must sign the Climate Superfund Act immediately.”

While children played in an inflatable pool and adults waved fans, activists spoke to the absurdity of using underfunded cooling methods to keep New Yorkers safe during extreme heat, while a bill to spend billions of corporate dollars collects dust on the Governor’s desk.

While New Yorkers struggle through extreme heat — which kills an average of 350 people each year in NYC —  the fossil fuel polluters driving the climate crisis are reaping record profits. Last year, New York taxpayers foot a $2.2 billion bill for the costs of the climate crisis. The Climate Change Superfund Act, passed in June, would instead make polluters pay for climate resiliency measures, contributing to a dedicated fund of $3 billion/year to fund projects that protect communities from extreme heat and other climate disasters, and more.

“New York taxpayers are facing staggering — and rising — costs to cover damages caused by climate change. More intense heat results in more floods and tornadoes, rising sea levels threaten peoples’ homes, and hotter temperatures put New Yorkers in the emergency room. These all have human costs, but they have financial costs too. Big Oil, who knew about the dangers decades ago and fought to block environmental progress, must be on the hook to offset these looming huge costs. Governor Hochul must act to protect taxpayers by approving the Climate Change Superfund Act,” said Blair Horner, NYPIRG Executive Director.

“The Climate Superfund Act is such a good bill,” said Sara Gronim of 350Brooklyn. “The premise is straightforward: those who pollute should pay to clean it up. The money it would raise is significant: $3B/year for 25 years. The money would be spent on useful projects like repairing public infrastructure damaged by extreme weather and upgrading public buildings to make them more resilient in the face of extreme weather to come. And it wouldn’t cost New Yorkers a dime. C’mon, Governor Hochul!  Tell giant polluters like Exxon to cough up and pay for at least some of the harm they’ve caused. Sign the Climate Superfund Act!”

“This is the hottest summer in recorded history and our children’s lives are on the line,” said Sarah Fecht, Climate Families NYC member and parent of twin 3-year-olds from the Bronx. “Later is too late for climate action. Governor Hochul must sign the Climate Change Superfund Act now.”

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“Week after week we hit record after record for hottest day in history. All rain now means flooded streets and flooded schools. Our generation is scared what our future will look like,” said Keanu Arpels-Josiah, 19, Policy Co-Lead with Fridays For Future NYC. “It’s time for Governor Hochul to stop placing the interests of corporate mega-donors and the fossil fuel industry over our futures, and over climate action. It’s time for Governor Hochul to listen to our generation, to the legislature, to the science, to congress, and begin to hold those industries accountable by signing the Climate Change Superfund Act immediately. Our future is on the line.”

“Implementing the Climate Superfund Act is absolutely critical to helping ordinary New Yorkers deal with the harm inflicted on them by Big Oil. It’s inexcusable that this industry, which has known for years the impact of its industry on the climate, is not held accountable,” said Peter Bardaglio, Coordinator, Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative.

Background

In the final hours of the 2024 Legislative Session, the NYS Assembly passed the Climate Change Superfund Act 92-49. The Senate passed it 43-17 earlier this session, for the second time. Now, all Governor Hochul needs to do is sign the bill to make it law.

The Climate Change Superfund Act is modeled on the existing State and Federal Superfund law (which requires polluters to fund toxic waste dump cleanups) by making Big Oil climate polluters financially responsible for the environmental damages that they have caused. The top Big Oil companies will be required to pay a combined $3 Billion annually, every year for 25 years. These costs won’t fall back on consumers, according to economists and an analysis from the think tank Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU Law. 

New York is facing staggering – and growing – climate costs. In 2023 alone, Governor Hochul announced $2.2 billion in taxpayer funding for climate-related infrastructure repairs and upgrades and resilience projects. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that it will cost $52 billion just to protect NY Harbor. On top of that, we’ll need $75-$100 billion to protect Long Island, and $55 billion for climate costs across the rest of the state. The state Comptroller has predicted that more than half of local governments’ costs will be attributable to the climate crisis. 

Big Oil is at fault for climate change, and it can certainly afford the costs. According to a study in One Earth, the world’s 21 top polluting companies are responsible for $5.4 trillion in climate damages over a period of 26 years. While these climate damage bills pile up for taxpayers, the industry responsible for this mess is raking in cash. In 2023, the hottest year on record, Big Oil earned a whopping nearly $173 billion. 2022 was a record profit year for the industry, with the top companies’ combined profits reaching an astounding $376 billion.

Those record profits allowed them to deliver unprecedented returns to shareholders while doing little to address the climate crisis they knew was coming, but did all they could to undermine climate action. Starting in the 1970s, scientists working for Exxon made “remarkably accurate projections of just how much burning fossil fuels would warm the planet.” Yet for years, “the oil giant publicly cast doubt on climate science, and cautioned against any drastic move away from burning fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.”              

The Climate Change Superfund Act isn’t just necessary – it’s popular. According to a poll from Data for Progress, a whopping 89% of New Yorkers support fossil fuel companies covering at least some of the cost for climate damages. Another poll found that 70% of New York voters support the Climate Change Superfund Act, including majorities across party lines. Over 400 community, environmental, labor, religious, and youth groups supported the legislation and it is backed by the NYS Association of Counties, NY Conference of Mayors and Elected Officials to Protect America.

Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this may or may not reflect the views of HWM.

Photo credit: Food & Water Watch.